— Leads police on high-speed chase around Oliver —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — Jan. 10, 2007) —
Christopher Wayne Ellis, a name familiar to local RCMP and Osoyoos Times readers, faces nine charges, including three counts of kidnapping, after allegedly leading several South Okanaganpolice detachments on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle with a terrified family along for the ride.
At 12:45 p.m. on January 2, RCMP received a report of a carjacking and possible abduction on Highway 97 near Road 22.
While attempting to elude police, after having stolen a Ford F-250 pick-up truck from an Oliver business that morning, the driver collided with a semi-tractor-trailer, lost control and rolled the vehicle.
A 30-year-old Oliver resident, Jennifer Johnston, witnessed the crash and stopped to assist. She was soon overpowered by the man and after a struggle, he had her car keys and drove off with victim's two young children and her grandmother still inside.
The carjacker eluded police for approximately an hour, driving erratically through Oliver at speeds up to 180 km/h. He eventually drove the vehicle into a ditch at Black Sage Road and fled on foot, leaving grandmother Gladys Knechtel and children James and Jayanna in the vehicle unharmed but terrified.
But with the additional help of Penticton RCMP Dog Services, South Okanagan Traffic Services, and a police helicopter, the fugitive's luck soon ran out.
After fleeing from the vehicle, the bloodied man ran to a neighbouring residence, which happened to be the home of auxiliary police constable Randy Toor.
The man told Toor he had been involved in an altercation and needed a ride. Toor refused, so the man asked if he could use the phone to call a friend for a ride.
Meanwhile, a witness had identified the suspect vehicle on Black Sage Road and police had alerted the constable that the culprit was in the area.
The carjacker then ran from the home, crossed the road and solicited a ride from an orchard worker. The driver was subsequently stopped at a police roadblock and police took Ellis into custody. Police believe he may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident.
It wasn't long after his release from prison before the 29-year-old Christopher Ellis – brother to Michael Edward Ellis, who is in custody awaiting trial on several charges stemming from a summer crime spree – was again in trouble.
RCMP Corporal Mike Field says he understands and shares the public's frustration with repeat offenders like Ellis, who are caught, sentenced and then released only to commit more offences.
The only remedy we have is to solicit our MLAs to make changes to the laws and put pressure on the justice system. We do our best to make sure the charges are as serious as possible, but judges have certain sentencing criteria they have to follow when deciding on the length of a sentence.rnIn October 2004, Christopher Ellis was convicted on seven counts of robbery out of Surrey and sentenced to four years. In June of 2006 he breached the conditions of his release by failing to report to his parole officer. In July he was arrested in Osoyoos on a Canada-wide warrant and pled guilty to wilful obstruction of a peace officer. Because of time already served in custody while awaiting trial, he was released December 20, 2006.
Ellis appeared in Penticton Provincial Court January 3 and has been charged with three counts of kidnapping, robbery, dangerous driving, causing a police pursuit, prohibited driving, theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property.
He remains in custody and his next court appearance is set for January 29.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, the maximum sentence Ellis faces is life imprisonment if convicted on the kidnapping charges, but Field believes a realistic sentence might be 7-10 years.
I'm thinking they'll probably give him a longer sentence [than in the past]. This is the third go-around with him, and things have escalated every time. It's time they dealt with him more severely.
