2 men charged after fleeing R.I.D.E. checkpoint and ramming police cruisers in Oshawa

A Durham Regional Police car is shown at a Bowmanville, Ont., shopping centre parking lot on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives

Two Oshawa men are facing multiple charges after allegedly fleeing a R.I.D.E. checkpoint, crashing into another vehicle, and intentionally ramming police cruisers before being arrested following a K9-assisted search.

In a news release, Durham police say officers were conducting a R.I.D.E. initiative near Stevenson Road and Gibb Street at around 11 p.m. on Monday when a driver who “showed signs of impairment” was directed to pull over.

Instead, police say the driver fled the checkpoint at a “high rate of speed.”

A short distance away, police say the suspect vehicle struck another motorist but continued fleeing. When officers attempted to contain the vehicle, investigators say it “intentionally struck two police cruisers” before continuing their flight from police.

The vehicle was then driven dangerously for several more blocks before the driver and passenger abandoned it and fled on foot, according to investigators.

With the assistance of the K9 Unit and a police drone, officers say they tracked the suspects to a nearby residential backyard, where both were located hiding and taken into custody.

As a result, 29-year-old Je’von Hamblett-Oxley, of Oshawa, has been charged with:

• Dangerous operation
• Failure to stop for police
• Failure to remain at an accident
• Possession of a schedule I substance (oxycodone)
• Care or control of a vehicle with cannabis readily available

A second suspect, identified as 32-year-old Lincoln Richards of Oshawa is charged with:

• Possession of a schedule I substance
• Care or control of a vehicle with cannabis readily available

Hamblett-Oxley was held for a bail hearing, while Richards was released on an undertaking.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact police.