A man who fled from police and then crashed in a stolen vehicle in January of this year has been sentenced to 12 months in prison, followed by two years of probation.
Brian Robert Stephan, 29, of Chilliwack was sentenced Friday (May 1) in Abbotsford provincial court.
All charges were stayed against his co-accused, Stephanie Liane Glaister, 27.
The two faced a total of 17 charges after an incident that took place just after 2 a.m. on Jan. 5.
Police were stopping traffic due to downed trees and power lines, when a Toyota 4Runner that had been stopped on Short Road – south of Huntingdon/Vye Road between Gladwin and McCallum – abruptly turned around and sped away.
Police broadcast the vehicle’s description, and several minutes later, a report came in of a single-vehicle crash in the 33800 block of Vye Road.
The SUV had crashed into a fire hydrant and power pole, but was unoccupied when police arrived.
Officers began looking for the driver and any passengers, and the crashed Toyota was confirmed as having been stolen from Chilliwack.
Shortly after, a Ford Explorer drove by officers eastbound on Vye Road.
The Explorer had been stolen from a home in the 33900 block of Vye Road, where residents had reported a break-in and the theft of their car keys.
The Explorer was stopped by a spike belt laid down my police.
Stephan pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of a motor vehicle and one count of driving a vehicle without due care and attention.
He had also been charged with break-and-enter, failure to stop at an accident, flight from a peace officer, driving while prohibited and possession of stolen property, but those charges were stayed.
Stephan is still before the courts on separate charges from 2013 and 2014 that include possession of stolen property, driving while prohibited, and breaching his bail and probation conditions.