A 39-year old man, charged in connection with a vehicle and foot chase near Williams Lake, is now off the hook.
Daniel Oetheimer was scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday (June 22), but all charges against him have now been stayed.
The BC Prosecution Service says the prosecutor in charge of this file determined that the charge assessment standard was no longer met.
As the necessary legal context for any charge assessment decision Crown Counsel must consider the presumption of innocence, the prosecution’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the prosecutor’s fundamental obligation to act as a “minister of justice,” and see justice done. In discharging the charge assessment function, Crown Counsel must independently, objectively, and fairly measure all the available evidence against a two-part test:
- whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction; and, if so,
- whether the public interest requires a prosecution.
Oethheimer was facing numerous weapons-related charges in addition to dangerous operation of a vehicle and flight from police.
He was arrested in January of 2020 after police launched a search for two suspects after a spike belt was deployed for a vehicle that had failed to stop for police.
RCMP say the vehicle reached speeds of up to 160 miles per hour.
Police says Oethheimer was later arrested at a cabin near Tyee Lake.
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