Three years in jail for dangerous police chase from Penticton to Kelowna

KELOWNA – One of the two men arrested on the William R. Bennett Bridge in Kelowna in January will spend the next several years in jail for vehicle theft and a dangerous run from police.

Ryan Regan, 33, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in jail for dangerous driving, flight from police and using a vehicle as a weapon in an assault for a series of events that started in Penticton the morning of January 12, 2017.

Police said at the time the pursuit began when an officer stopped a 'suspicious vehicle' with two occupants inside.

The driver sped off and Penticton RCMP alerted officers across the Okanagan. Police tried unsuccessfully to stop the vehicle in West Kelowna before an RCMP helicopter and dog team were called in around 10 a.m. 

The suspects were not caught until RCMP partially closed the Bennett Bridge shortly before 11 a.m.

Michael Dennison, 25, was with Regan in the stolen 1998 Oldsmobile. He pleaded guilty in March to driving without a licence, dangerous driving and breaching probation. He is currently serving a seven month sentence.

Regan was on parole for a previous vehicle theft committed only days prior and was given an additional year in jail.

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