PUBLICATION:
Vancouver Sun
DATE:
2004.08.11
EDITION:
Final
SECTION: News
PAGE:
A1 / Front
BYLINE:
Doug Alexander, with a file from Jane Seyd
SOURCE:
Vancouver Sun
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Port
Moody gunman had violent record
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The
man who gunned down a woman in Port Moody early Monday morning, setting off a
police chase that ended in his death, had served time for various violent
crimes.
Surrey's Antonio James Pinheiro, 47, was identified by Coquitlam RCMP Tuesday as
the man shot dead in the shootout that erupted in Port Coquitlam, after he
crashed his pickup during a police pursuit. Pinheiro had served time at Mission
Institution in the early 1990s over a confrontation with his in-laws after his
wife left him.
His
first crime happened Sept. 26, 1991 when Pinheiro learned that his wife had left
him and taken their two children. In an attempt to track them down, he visited
the home of his wife's parents. He cut the telephone wires to their home,
broke into the house and threatened them and their son with a pistol. When
they refused to talk, he held them against their will for a period of time. He
then left, taking his brother-in-law, and returned home, where he was arrested.
Pinheiro was released on bail four days later and, on Oct.
13, he attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself in the stomach. His
actions violated his bail conditions, since he had a weapon.
After Pinheiro was released from hospital, he threatened
and assaulted his ex-wife -- a second breach of his bail conditions.
Pinheiro, who had no previous criminal record, pleaded
guilty to two counts of unlawful confinement, two firearms offences,
break and enter, two counts of breach of undertaking, and assault. He was
sentenced to two years in jail in 1992.
While he was serving his time at Mission Institution, the
National Parole Board expressed concerns about Pinheiro harbouring anger towards
his wife and her family. At a June 16, 1993 detention hearing, the board said
Pinheiro showed difficulty controlling his emotional impulses, and noted he
committed crimes with guns and knives. "Your victims were intentionally
tormented and were threatened with death during the course of your
offence," the board stated. "Present reports indicate that you
continue to foster anger and blame toward your wife and her family."
The board also referred to comments from a doctor who
"was convinced that you pose a high risk in part due to your negative
portrayal of your wife."
The
National Parole Board advised he remain in custody until his full sentence
expired on March 17, 1994.
Pinheiro
had one other run-in with the law last year when, on March 3, he was charged
with Section 810 (1) of the Criminal Code, which relates to fear of injuries and
damage by another person. That charge was stayed on May 28 this year.
The
latest incident involving Pinheiro unfolded Monday at Heritage Mountain
Boulevard and Ungless Way in Port Moody, when a woman was shot while fleeing
from a man dressed in camouflage. A passing motorist picked her up and drove her
to a nearby ambulance station. As police arrived, the gunman sped off in a
pickup truck, beginning a high-speed chase that lasted for 15 kilometres and
through two municipalities. As many as four dozen shots were fired between
police and the suspect as they sped down Lougheed Highway. The chase ended when
the suspect crashed into another vehicle and was forced off the road by a Port
Moody police car at Oxford Street in Port Coquitlam. A shootout between the RCMP,
police and the gunman erupted and the suspect was shot. He was taken to Royal
Columbian Hospital, where he died of his wounds.
Pinheiro's nephew, Matt, who lives in Newton said the family is shaken up about the incident. "I feel pretty bad about it," he said. "We're all pretty upset." Matt Pinheiro said he "wasn't very close" to his uncle, but "to me he was always friendly." He said he last saw him about a month ago.