Man charged in reported kidnapping incident makes first court appearance

Possession of stolen property and a kidnapping that lasted seven kilometres — those charges are being added to a list already facing 40-year-old Larry Olson.

Olson made his first appearance on kidnapping charges in Regina provincial court on Monday morning.

He appeared in court by video from the remand center. He wore the inmate uniform of grey sweats and a white t-shirt — the tattoos on his left arm clearly visible when he crossed them over his chest.

Olson is 6’6″ tall — so tall the judge had to ask him to bend over so his face could be seen on the video screen. He kneeled down briefly before getting back up and just stooping over.

He’s accused of running from police on Friday evening after allegedly being pulled over in a stolen vehicle. Police contend he then got into the passenger side of a vehicle stopped at a red light and forced the driver to take him nearly seven kilometres away.

The judge read out Olson’s new charges Monday morning, then talked about several older charges including failures to appear in court and breaches of probation where he allegedly didn’t report to his probation officer.

The Crown prosecutor said he was opposed to Olson’s release, and a date for the next steps in his case was set for Monday next week.