A Langley man has been sentenced to an additional 138 days in jail, a one-year driving ban and one year of probation for stealing 12 catalytic converters and fleeing in a stolen vehicle from police in Abbotsford.
Tyson Fust, 27, was sentenced Monday (May 16) in Vancouver provincial court after previously pleading guilty to four of the 13 charges with which he was initially charged: one count each of flight from police and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and two counts of possession of property obtained by crime.
His nine other charges – including robbery and dangerous driving – were stayed.
Overall, Fust was sentenced to 300 days, but was given 162 days’ credit for time already served.
Fust, whom police have described as a prolific offender, was arrested on Jan. 20 of this year, when officers located him in a stolen vehicle at the Bradner rest stop on Highway 1 in Abbotsford.
Police identified the vehicle as having been involved in an earlier catalytic converter theft in which the suspect had a weapon and threatened a citizen.
Fust drove away from the rest stop, and officers used a spike belt to damage the vehicle’s tires, but Fust did not stop, and police did not pursue him.
RELATED: 12 catalytic converters found in stolen vehicle after driver flees from Abbotsford to Langley
A short time later, one of the car’s tires deflated and Fust was forced to stop in the 21600 block of Highway 1 in Langley. He ran away, but was arrested after a foot pursuit involving a K9 unit and the Langley RCMP.
A search of the stolen vehicle turned up 12 catalytic converters.
Following his arrest, Fust was in custody until Feb. 17, according to the provincial court database.
After his release, he allegedly committed an assault with a weapon in Chilliwack on March 7. (That charge is set to go to trial on June 9 of this year.)
He has been in custody since then.
Fust was in the news in 2016, when he was sentenced to a two-year jail term for a two-month crime spree in Abbotsford, Mission and Surrey.
His offences included robbing an 81-year-old woman of her purse in the parking lot of Sevenoaks Shopping Centre in Abbotsford on Dec. 21, 2015, and then running to a waiting vehicle, which sped away.
On Jan. 8, 2016, Fust walked into Mike’s Market – a community grocery store on Manson Street in Mission’s Hatzic Bench – and demanded cash.
RELATED: Man sentenced for robberies in Abbotsford, Mission and Surrey
He was carrying a fake gun and a large bag and had his face concealed with sunglasses and a medical mask.
He was caught on camera during the hold-up, and the clear image was circulated online and through the media.
Fust also committed a robbery in Surrey on the same day, and robbed a pizza delivery drive at knifepoint in the Clearbrook area of Abbosford on Feb. 29, 2016.
He initially faced almost 30 charges but was sentenced on seven – four counts of robbery, two counts of possessing stolen property and one count of using a fake gun.
vhopes@abbynews.com
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