A 31-year-old Coquitlam man has been arrested and charged with robbery and dangerous driving in connection with a February carjacking.
Haman Lamar Benamaisia, who is known to police, was arrested without incident on April 21 and is currently in custody.
Coquitlam RCMP say the situation began at 10 a.m. on Feb. 16 when a police car tried to stop a pickup truck in a parking lot in the 3000-block of Lougheed Highway.
The driver sped away, crashed the pickup truck at the railway crossing at Kingsway Avenue and Westwood Street, carjacked a sedan, then crashed that vehicle before running away near the Coquitlam River.
“This has been a high-priority file from the moment it started,” Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said. “The Coquitlam RCMP Investigative Support Team has been using all the expert resources at its disposal to ensure a solid, complete investigation. More evidence is being processed and more charges are possible. We have no other suspects.”
Nobody was seriously hurt during the carjacking but the woman whose vehicle was stolen was shaken up.
Benamaisia has also been charged with flight from a peace officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and driving while prohibited/licence suspended from an incident March 10 in White Rock.
It started when police tried to stop a car, later found to be a rental vehicle, from making an illegal left turn in South Surrey. The vehicle sped away and police used Air 1 and were helped by neighboring residents to track down a man and a woman who were spotted coming out of a ravine.
