RCMP charge 2 men with firearms offences after car chase in Halifax
Charges include possession of prohibited weapon, dangerously operating a vehicle
Two men are facing numerous charges as a result of a federal RCMP investigation that involved a dramatic car chase through Halifax on Wednesday.
In a release Saturday afternoon, Nova Scotia RCMP say members of its federal serious organized crime and emergency response team attempted to stop a car in the area of Highway 102 and Dunbrack Street Wednesday afternoon when the vehicle fled.
The release said police pursued the vehicle for about two minutes before police forced it off the road. The driver and passenger were arrested at the scene.
According to the release, the occupants threw a loaded handgun out the window while the vehicle was on the move. It was recovered and seized by police.
After the two men were arrested, officers searched the car and found a "significant quantity of drugs believed to be cocaine," police say.
The release said the vehicle stop prompted a search of a home on Willett Street in Halifax, where police found and seized "a loaded AR-15 assault rifle" and ammunition.
The two occupants of the vehicle, Cameron Mombourquette and Dawid Denisow, have been jointly charged with numerous offences, including transporting a prohibited firearm in a careless manner, possessing a prohibited weapon for a purpose dangerous to public peace, possessing a prohibited weapon without a licence, and possessing a prohibited weapon with an altered, defaced, or removed serial number.
Mombourquette was separately charged with dangerously operating a vehicle and failing to stop while being pursued.
Denisow was charged with two counts of unsafe storage of a firearm with a loaded magazine, possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to public peace, possession of a firearm without a licence and possession of a "prohibited device" without authorization.
The release said the two men have been remanded into custody and are scheduled to appear in provincial court in Halifax on Monday at 9:30 a.m. More charges are expected.
Car chase drew criticism
The police response during the investigation, which included 13 sites around Halifax, drew some criticism from people concerned about public safety.
On Friday, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey said the RCMP owes the public an explanation over both the high-speed chase in Halifax during rush hour, and the raid of an apartment building near a school just as students were leaving for the day.
"I'm concerned, so certainly the public concern is warranted and it, quite frankly, deserves an explanation, and these are discussions that I will advance with RCMP senior managers," he said.
MORE TOP STORIES