Hefty jail term for man who rammed police cruiser, fled by kayak in Sicamous

SICAMOUS – It sounded like the quintessential Canadian crime story, but a man who fled police by paddling away by hand in a kayak in the middle of winter likely isn’t laughing after being sentenced to more than three years in jail.

Justin William Daniels, 25, led police on quite a chase over both land and water in December 2015. Officers said they tried to pull him over around 2:30 a.m. Dec. 28, 2015, but he rammed the cruiser twice and sped away.

The cruiser was disabled by the collision, but a police dog team managed to locate the abandoned vehicle at Mara Lake along with footprints leading down to the water.

“Officers found other signs which indicated that the driver had paddled away from the shore by hand in a kayak,” Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said in a media release issued the day after the chase.

Police drove to the other side of the lake where a service dog picked up the scent and tracked it to a residence where Daniels had broken into a garage. He was suffering from hypothermia, but otherwise uninjured.

In mid-February, Daniels was found guilty of flight from a peace officer, driving while prohibited, possession of stolen property over $5,000, mischief to property over $5,000, theft under $5,000 and possessing stolen mail, mail container or key. Daniels was originally charged with 19 counts of theft of mail, all committed in Sicamous, but they were stayed by the Crown.

Daniels was handed 373 days in jail for fleeing police, 12 months for driving while prohibited, and six months each for the other charges. He was ordered to serve his six months on the mischief charge concurrently, or at the same time, as his other jail sentence, leaving him with just over three-and-a-half years in prison.

He was also ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution and just over $1,500 in fines.

Man rams police vehicle near Sicamous, tries to escape by kayak, say RCMP https://t.co/uYmHtE4WOF

Really? Ugh..so Canadian!

— Candace d'jour (@TheGingaNinja83) January 6, 2016

And in #Canada – Man tries to #escape #police in a kayak while they simply waited on the other side of the lake #lol https://t.co/Gt0RMhSeKh

— Taylan (@TaylanToronto) December 30, 2015

… This headline. #CanadianProblems

Man rams police vehicle near Sicamous, tries to escape by kayak, say RCMP https://t.co/aSPqCSO9zY

— Dustin Dagenais (@WaverusherKobi) December 30, 2015

To contact a reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.