One of three men accused of impersonating police officers during a home invasion in the Eastern Hillsides in 2019 has died before his case was resolved.
Crown counsel abated the charges against Matthew Pelletier in provincial court in Chilliwack on April 7.
Pelletier was charged with break and enter, robbery, and unlawful confinement for the incident on March 23, 2019 at a home on Falls Court in the Eastern Hillsides.
After receiving a report of a home invasion that day, police arrived to find a white SUV fleeing the scene. The vehicle hit a police spike belt, carried on crashing into a police vehicle before heading towards on Highway 1 where the driver sped westbound in the eastbound lanes.
A dramatic video of the incident showed sparks flying as the SUV sped along the highway eventually crashing into a barrier near Prest Road.
• READ MORE: WATCH: Sparks fly as SUV speeds down wrong side of Highway 1 in Chilliwack trying to flee police
Three men were allegedly in the vehicle. Charged alongside Pelletier at the time were Michael Lee-Reid and Robert Hugo Grattan.
Lee-Reid pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, 2020 to break-and-enter and robbery. He was sentenced to 630 days jail, followed by three years probation on Sept. 29, 2020.
It is unclear from Court Services Online if Grattan’s charges have been resolved, but he does have a serious history with home invasions, having been convicted of manslaughter for a home invasion in Harrison Hot Springs back in 2007.
• READ MORE: Man accused in Chilliwack home invasion once convicted of manslaughter
He was 22 years old at the time and had a history of serious drug use from age 14. Justice William Grist sentenced him an a co-accused Nicole Amanda Birch to nine years in jail.
Grattan was included in the Surrey RCMP’s top 10 most wanted list from December 2016.
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