A young Hope man is facing his third set of serious criminal charges since he became an adult less than four years ago.
Jacob Paul Sihata was due in Chilliwack provincial court on Monday (April 12) charged with break-and-enter, robbery, motor vehicle theft, along with three firearms charges for an incident in Hope on Nov. 25, 2020.
Already on probation for a conviction from Sept. 3, 2019, Sihata will also face a trial for a breach of that probation.
After the September 2019 incident, the then 19-year-old was charged with trespassing at night, assault with a weapon, possession of stolen property and identity theft. He was convicted of the trespassing charge, sentenced to time served and given one year probation.
But four days before that was his most serious alleged incident, from Aug. 31, 2019, where he was accused in a violent assault in a wooded area near Lake of the Woods.
At that time the RCMP reported that the assault investigation led to the execution of search warrants at three residences, the recovery of stolen goods, a firearms seizure and Sihata’s arrest.
READ MORE: Assault in Hope leads to firearms seizure, recovered goods and arrest
On that day, Hope RCMP received a call that someone was assaulted and dragged along the ground in a wooded area near Lake of the Woods. Police quickly identified a possible suspect linked to a vehicle reported stolen on Aug. 25 from Flood Hope Road. Earlier, on the morning of Aug. 31, he failed to stop for police on Douglas Street.
That suspect, Sihata, was arrested in the 200-block of Robertson Crescent on the morning of Sept. 3.
Later that day, Hope RCMP executed a search warrant of two residences on 6th Avenue where they found sporting goods, gas power tools, and hand tools linked to investigations into a series of thefts.
A second search warrant was executed by police on Ferry Landing Place on Sept. 5. Firearms, ammunition, a bicycle, and evidence linked to the assault investigation were seized by officers.
Sihata faced several serious charges after that, including possession of stolen property under $5,000, flight from police, assault causing bodily harm, uttering threats, unlawful confinement, and two firearms charges.
In the end, however, he was convicted only of the flight from police and assault causing bodily harm.
As of Monday, Sihata remained in custody on the newest charges from November 2020 and his case was put over to a future date.
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