A Selkirk man says a routine trip to the beer store turned into a harrowing carjacking experience. It happened on Monday afternoon at the Red Barn Beer Store in Selkirk. Jeff Hunter said he walked out of the store and opened his car door – that’s when he said somebody grabbed him. “We started tussling and fighting. I tried to grab him out and he ended up throwing me down,” Hunter said. The struggle was caught on security camera as witnesses called 911. “The guy took off down the street with me hanging out the window,” Hunter said, adding he escaped the ordeal uninjured. As for how it happened, Hunter said he had left the car’s key fob in his lunchbox inside the car, making it an easy target for a carjacking. He said the person was able to push start the car and drive away. “It all happened within 30 seconds of him pulling up here,” said Red Barn manager Lionel Poirier, who saw the whole thing. “It was pretty exciting.” The 70-year-old Poirier called 911 and gave chase as he said two people made off in Hunter’s car. “I’ve been here for two years. I mean, there’s a little thievery, typical, but in all my life I’ve never seen car theft,” he said. But this is where Hunter’s unfortunate story took a turn. “I was actually sitting here right at the corner, blessing God, you know, thanking Him, you know, asking Him to please give me my car back,” said Hunter. Those prayers were quickly answered. Hunter said police tracked down his car at a nearby gas station and returned it within a half hour. “I give it up to the Selkirk cops. They really corned things off,” Hunter said, noting the whole ordeal has left him on edge. “I lock my doors, lock my cars, and that’s all you can do. You know, just be prepared for any split second decision.” According to Manitoba RCMP, Mounties pulled over the car in a parking lot on Main Street near Manchester Avenue and a man and a woman were arrested. A 31-year-old man from Winnipeg was charged with theft under $5,000, robbery, failure to comply with a breathalyzer demand and resisting/obstructing a peace officer. He was also ticketed $909 under the Highway Traffic Act for driving while disqualified and unlawful transportation of liquor in a motor vehicle. A 42-year-old woman from Selkirk is facing charges of theft under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. The man was detained in custody and the woman was released on an undertaking. None of the charges have been tested in court.
