A 27-year-old man accused of ramming a Burnaby RCMP vehicle in June before being arrested with help from a police dog has been released on bail into a Surrey addictions recovery house.
Burnaby RCMP’s gang enforcement team was in the area of Waltham Avenue and Berwick Street on June 27, when they tried to pull over a vehicle allegedly being driven by Coleton Connor Reelie, according to alleged facts presented at a bail hearing in Vancouver provincial court Friday.
A provincial Crown prosecutor said the vehicle allegedly rammed the police vehicle “in the course of that attempted stop,” and a foot chase ensued.
Officers followed Reelie to a house on Dickens Place and saw him go inside, according to the alleged facts.
“Police contained the residence, waited for a dog team to arrive and ultimately went in and arrested Mr. Reelie within the residence,” the prosecutor said.
Reelie was later released pending charges.
At the time, he had also been released on drug trafficking charges from two incidents in 2019, but he has failed to show up in court for multiple scheduled appearances, and a total of eight warrants have been issued for his arrest.
He was finally taken back into custody on Nov. 14.
At Friday’s bail hearing, a federal Crown prosecutor said the Crown was, nonetheless, agreeable to having Reelie released again on bail on a “last-chance basis” as long as he was released into a recovery house with a number of conditions, including a ban on contacting an associate allegedly involved in one of his drug trafficking cases and a ban on being found in the driver’s seat of any motor vehicle.
Judicial Justice Tim Holmes agreed to the proposed conditions but chastised Reelie for failing to appear for court dates.
“This court does not tolerate no-shows,” he said. “It’s costing the taxpayer a huge amount of money chasing after you, and that’s money that could be spent on treatment, on health issues.”
Reelie has not entered pleas on any of the charges, and the allegations presented at the bail hearing have not been proven in court.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 21.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylorEmail [email protected]
