By Ashley Legassic

Charges laid in 2016 Kamloops hit and run after DNA match

Mar 13, 2019 | 2:07 PM

KAMLOOPS — A man has been arrested more than two years after allegedly striking a Kamloops jogger with his vehicle and taking off.

Deb Kennedy survived, but was injured in the collision.

Kamloops RCMP say in a news release that 29-year-old Joshua Joseph Pooli was arrested earlier today (March 13) as the suspect in the hit and run.

The morning of Aug. 28, 2016, Kennedy was struck by a vehicle on West Athabasca Street. The driver sped away without stopping or offering assistance.

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Kennedy suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries, and RCMP searched the area before finding the suspect vehicle later that day near the Halston overpass. It had been stolen earlier in the morning, RCMP say.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says the suspect’s DNA was found inside of the vehicle, but at the time it didn’t match any of the samples in the national DNA data bank.

Recently, the DNA was matched with a suspect who was from Kamloops but currently living in Prince George.

Pooli was arrested in Prince George.

“We are very pleased that a suspect has been identified. This is a case where modern police investigative techniques … and patience … has paid off,” said Shelkie.

Pooli will be taken to Kamloops for charges of failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm, possession of stolen property, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.

WATCH: This story by CFJC’s Chad Klassen originally aired on August 29, 2016