Suspect charged in connection with Vancouver carjacking, pepper-spray spree
Jesse William Swain, 27, faces 8 charges
Charges have been laid in connection with a carjacking that left at least one person hurt and several people pepper-sprayed in downtown Vancouver last Friday.
Jesse William Swain, 27, is facing eight charges related to assault and robbery.
He was arrested after at least one pedestrian was hit by a stolen vehicle at the intersection of Hamilton and West Georgia streets.
Police said the car was stolen from the parking lot at Cambie and Pender streets around 8:40 a.m. PT. The car struck several parked vehicles on Hamilton Street shortly afterwards.
Swain is accused of fleeing on foot and pepper-spraying several witnesses.
He was eventually tackled and pinned to the ground on Cambie Street by a construction worker, who was also pepper-sprayed in the process.
Swain has been charged with the following offences:
- Three counts of assault with a weapon
- One count of robbery
- One count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm
- One count of failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm
- One count of failing to stop at a vehicle accident
- One count of theft under $5,000
Swain remains in custody.
The pedestrian who was hit was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
With files from Stephen Quinn, Anita Bathe, Karin Larsen and Micki Cowan