A special prosecutor has been appointed to oversee a Nanaimo case involving a man charged with breaking and entering, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft in early September.
Two of the alleged victims in the Sept. 2 incidents are extended family members of a Crown counsel employed with the B.C. Prosecution Service.
The appointment of special prosecutor Gail Barns was made to avoid any potential for “real or perceived improper influence in the administration of justice,” the prosecution service said in a statement Thursday.
Witnesses told police a man broke into a Duggan Road home using a machete, prompting the homeowner to flee. The man then broke into another home, where residents chased him out.
Nanaimo RCMP said they were told the man ran to Davies Road, where he attacked and wounded a man in his driveway before chasing the man and his wife, then demanding the keys to their car and stealing it.
Officers responded to “a flurry of reports” about the vehicle being driven at high speed on Bowen Road and the Island Highway, before it clipped a concrete median at the Comox Street-Terminal Avenue intersection and flew through the air.
The driver managed to keep going along Terminal Avenue before turning onto Albert Street and losing control, police said.
He crashed the car at the intersection of Albert and Dunsmuir Street and fled.
On Sept. 3, Christopher Bartos, 32, was charged with two counts of breaking and entering, robbery, aggravated assault, theft of a motor vehicle and breach of release.
Eight days later, the prosecution service added seven additional charges.
Bartos’ next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 6 in Port Alberni.
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