A St. John’s man suspected of stealing a taxi and speeding away from police, just barely missing an officer, has been denied bail.
Justin Murphy, 26, appeared in provincial court in St. John's this morning. He is due back in court again May 30.
Murphy is charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, assault with a weapon (the car), theft over $5,000 (the car) and breach of probation. He’s also charged with breaching several traffic violations.
Murphy was arrested early Wednesday morning after RNC patrol officers noticed a taxi commit a driving infraction near the Signal Hill tourist centre about 3:15 a.m.
The officers tried to stop the vehicle after discovering it had been reported stolen from the downtown area.
Police followed the taxi up Signal Hill before the car was driven over a median towards a police officer, who had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
Murphy was then said to have lost control of the taxi and crashed it in what police describe as a single-vehicle rollover.
He reportedly tried to run away before being caught by officers.
Murphy has several other outstanding charges, including break and enter, theft and possession of stolen property from a Feb. 28 incident, along with break and enter and possession of stolen property from April 8-9.
rgillingham@thetelegram.com
Twitter: @TelyCourt
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