Fleeing police and ditching vehicle leads to weapons, drug charges in PEC
A person from Toronto and a person from Deseronto are facing a long list of charges after failing to stop for police, evading officers multiple times, and fleeing on foot after ditching their vehicle in the woods.
According to the Prince Edward County (PEC) Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the events stemmed from a drug investigation and began on Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2023, when officers attempted to stop a suspect vehicle on County Road 49. Instead of stopping, the vehicle fled from police, “travelling in a manner dangerous to the public,” the OPP said in a press release the following day.
Further west, police attempted to stop the vehicle again, deploying a spike strip on Highway 62. However, “the suspect vehicle evaded police and continued northbound at a high rate of speed,” the OPP said.
From there, officers located the suspect vehicle “abandoned in the woods off Valley Road.” With the assistance of the East Region OPP Canine Unit, and the East Region OPP Community Street Crime Unit, police located the occupants of the vehicle at a nearby residence, according to the OPP.
As part of the ensuing investigation, police located a loaded handgun, high-capacity magazines, handcuffs, a quantity of suspected cocaine, a quantity of Canadian currency, and drug paraphernalia, police detailed.
As a result, Cedric Agard, 28, of Toronto, and Kiersha White, 33, of Deseronto were both charged with:
- Carrying a concealed weapon
- Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
- Possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition
- Knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm
- Four counts of failure to comply with a release order (other than to attend court)
- Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime with a value under $5,000
- Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking
- Being the occupant of a motor vehicle knowing there was a firearm
Agard was further charged with:
- Flight from a peace officer
- Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
- Four counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a prohibition order
Both individuals were held to attend bail hearings today, Thursday, Apr. 20, 2023, however, the OPP did not disclose the results of those hearings.