Penticton Law Courts (File photo)

Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

A man who pretended to need help with a flat bike tire before brazenly stealing a truck in Oliver was sentenced to time served in jail Monday after spending roughly eight months custody. 

Christopher Lawrence Kolody, 37, pleaded guilty to single counts of theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and obstructing a peace officer on March 9 in provincial court in Penticton. 

On July 10, 2019 around 6 p.m. Kolody approached a man on Road 19 in Oliver saying he needed assistance with a flat bike tire. 

“The complainant operated a winery. He had never met Mr. Kolody before, but thought he should try to help him. He was trying to be nice and help out,” said Crown counsel John Swanson. “He was going to make arrangements to have the flat bicycle tire repaired. It was at that time Mr. Kolody ran to the truck and fled, obviously stealing the truck.” 

Kolody headed northbound towards downtown Oliver where police caught up with him. After receiving a report of the stolen vehicle, an RCMP officer spotted the black Dodge Ram driving southbound on Main Street. 

Kolody did not stop for the RCMP and fled “at a high rate of speed,” Swanson said. 

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The stolen vehicle made an illegal pass into oncoming traffic before running a red light at the intersection of Main Street and Similkameen Avenue. 

The officer “noted in particular that when the vehicle ran the red light, despite the police trying to stop him, he almost caused an accident with another vehicle that was legally proceeding through the intersection,” Swanson said. 

Police saw Kolody flee from the vehicle and pursued him on foot. Another RCMP officer arrived on scene and they eventually located him hiding in bushes behind the Chevron gas station. 

When arrested Kolody provided a false name to the police officers. Police traced the fake name back to a man who had his vehicle broken into in Grande Prairie, Alta. in April 2019 and his wallet and ID stolen at that time, Swanson said.

Court heard Kolody, originally a resident of Trail, B.C. who had spent time working in the Alberta oilfields, was in the throws of a heroin and meth addiction during the incident and is taking steps to treat his addiction while in custody.

Kolody has been in custody since July 10, 2019, for a total of 244 days, or 366 days with pre-trial custody credit. 

Kolody also received a 270-day conditional sentence for domestic assault charges out of Grande Prairie in June 2019, which he will serve at a recovery house in Penticton. Kolody verbally threatened a woman he was in a relationship with in Alberta and at one point threatened her with a blowtorch. 

The conditional sentence “gives the court power to essentially bring you back into custody and have you serve the entire sentence in custody if you don’t follow through with what you are promising to do,” Judge Greg Koturbash said while handing down the sentence Monday.  

Kolody was also given a three-year driving prohibition.