House arrest, curfew for man who fled police in stolen truck
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on July 18, 2024.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A 49-year-old man will spend some time under house arrest for fleeing from police in a stolen pickup truck.Travis Robert Moser was handed an eight -month conditional sentence Monday after pleading guilty in Lethbridge court of justice to charges of possession of stolen property and dangerous driving.
On April 25 of last year a city resident called police and said someone had stolen his 2004 truck overnight while it was parked in his driveway.
A month later the truck owner’s friend notified police that he had seen the truck travelling on Mayor Magrath Drive. Police caught up to the vehicle at the intersection of Mayor Magrath Drive and 34 Avenue South, but as they approached the vehicle it sped through a red light and fled south in heavy traffic.
“Given the amount of traffic that was in the area that had to stop for this vehicle as it went through the red light at the intersection, the police did not initiate a traffic stop at that time,” Crown Prosecutor Robert Morrison told court.
Later in the afternoon, however, another officer spotted the truck inside a storage compound at the airport, and police surrounded the area and arrested Moser. Moser resisted arrest, but was subdued by a police dog.
He told police he had gotten the truck sometime earlier from a “kid” in an alley, but Morrison said Moser should have known it was stolen and should have known not to flee from police.
“He panicked. He drove through the red light in an effort to get away from the police.”
Lethbridge lawyer Frank Llewellyn pointed out his client suffered from a “relatively advanced drug problem,” for several years but got “off track” and was using cocaine and methamphetamine at the time of the offences.
“Since the commission of these offences in May of last year, he’s literally turned his life around,” Llewellyn said, adding his client spent time at a rehab facility in Fort Macleod, and several weeks in a rehab program in Lethbridge.
“Since the drug rehab program in Fort Macleod, he indicates he’s been clean; he’s been sober and rid of these problems.”
During the first four months of his conditional sentence, Moser will, with some exceptions, be under house arrest, followed by four months of curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. everyday.
Moser could have also faced a driving prohibition for up to three years, but the Crown did not recommend it and admitted it had not been discussed with the defence as part of an early case resolution.
“You’re fortunate you’re not losing your licence today,” Justice Sylvia Oishi told Moser.
Additional charges of resisting a peace officer, possession of stolen property, injuring a law enforcement animal, flight from police, driving without insurance and theft under $5,000, were withdrawn. 3
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