Regina man charged after taxi stolen from cabbie

A 21-year-old Regina man is facing a number of charges after a cab was stolen in the city early Sunday.

It’s the second time in a week that the man has been arrested for an incident involving a vehicle in the city. He also was charged after a single-vehicle crash on April 26.

On Sunday, the Regina Police Service got a call just before 2 a.m., from a cab dispatcher who reported that someone had stolen a taxi from one of the company’s drivers.

Officers were told the cabbie had picked up a fare in the 1400 block of Angus Street and, shortly afterwards, the man stole the vehicle.

Police saw the cab being driven in the city and placed a spike belt at 11th Avenue and Cornwall Street. After running over the belt, the car finally stopped on Albert Street just south of Dewdney Avenue.

The driver initially gave a false name to police, who found a knife on the floor of the cab. A subsequent search of the man found a small bag of methamphetamine.

Officers also found the suspect had been prohibited from driving. He was subsequently charged with eight offences and appeared in court Monday.

In the previous incident, police got a call April 26 at about 8:30 p.m., about an accident at the intersection of Rochdale Boulevard and Devonshire Drive.

Officers determined a vehicle travelling westbound on Rochdale had disobeyed a stop sign at Devonshire. The vehicle swerved to avoid another vehicle, hit a curb and flipped onto its side.

The driver and lone occupant of the offending vehicle ran off, but witnesses helped officers find and arrest the man. He was charged with four offences and was released from custody, with his appearance in court set for June 30.