KITCHENER -- New details have emerged about Joshua Hannaford, the 31-year-old man on trial for running from police and for possession of stolen guns and a stolen van.
Hannaford was shot at by Waterloo Regional Police during the 2018 pursuit.
Police had tracked the van to the Homer Watson Boulevard area near Highway 401.
Hannaford acknowledged in court Tuesday that he had three chances to surrender to police that day: once at a road blockade, once when the stolen van got stuck in the mud, and once more when he fled on foot.
The Crown suggests Hannaford was highly motivated to run because he knew guns and ammunition were in the van.
"I didn't know about the rifles at the time," Hannaford replied in court.
He maintains that he yelled at the officer, "I just want to go home."
On the stand while being cross-examined, he admitted he was addicted to crystal meth at the time, and acknowledged this was not the first time he had tried to run from police.
During the cross-examination, the Crown brought up a previous run-in with police: the judge heard that Hannaford was convicted in the summer of 2017 for trying to run from officers.
The defence is calling one more witness before closing arguments, which are expected to Thursday.
On top of this trial, Hannaford has put forward an application to stay the charges because of excessive use of police force.
A ruling on that is expected at the end of this judge-alone trial.
