A B.C. judge ruled that a Chilliwack man will remain in custody as he faces four charges related to an incident in Mission last summer.
36-year-old Michael Joseph Hasell is accused of stealing keys from a Mission auto repair shop and striking the owner with a truck, along with two police vehicles.
He is charged with flight from police, assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, dangerous operation of a conveyance, and assault with a weapon.
According to a ruling posted on the BC Courts website on Wednesday (Jan. 29), Hasell's application for judicial interim release was denied.
“Although I am sympathetic to Mr. Hasell's personal circumstances, including his current use of a wheelchair and his mother's poor health, this does not change my views with respect to justification for his continued detention under the tertiary grounds. Mr. Hasell's release, given the number and frequency of his criminal offences and in particular the vehicle and property offences and the potential risk that he might reoffend, would, in my view, be of great concern to the general public. I am satisfied that his continued detention is also warranted under the tertiary ground; that is, to maintain public confidence in the justice system,” the judge said.
The incident in question began on Harbour Avenue in Mission before 6 p.m. on July 19, according to a Mission RCMP news release from the summer.
Police said a man allegedly stole keys to a customer’s vehicle at an auto repair shop. They say the shop owner confronted the man after he drove by in a Chevrolet Silverado and unlocked the customer’s vehicle with the fob. Members of the public attempted to block the truck from leaving and police also arrived to thwart the escape.
RCMP said at the time that the man allegedly fled after striking the shop owner and two police vehicles with the truck while forcing other pedestrians out of the way.
The Upper Fraser Valley Regional RCMP detachment spotted the truck on Lougheed Highway in the Agassiz area and a helicopter was called in to assist. Police said it eventually stopped in a Maple Avenue parking lot in Chilliwack.
According to the ruling, that’s where Hasell was arrested.
“The police arrive, box in the truck and they arrest him on the other side of the building. He is taken down, during which, I am told, his leg was broken: he had previously broken it as a young man and it had never really properly healed so he sustained some injury in that. The arresting officers described him as being combative and resistant, curling his arms up and kicking,” the ruling reads.
Per the ruling, a five‑day trial for Hasell is in the process of being set.
