Canadian statute of limitations

[stevep]

I made a stupid move in my youth, but have since remained on the good side of the law. In Newfoundland more than 20 years ago, I took $500 from a bank account that was not mine under false pretenses. I was never arrested as I made a poor decision and left the province instead of facing up to the charges. There was a "bench warrant" issued, though the warrant had a radius limit of 100 km. It was brought to my attention that the warrant still exists after 20 years when I was recently pulled over for routine check in Ontario, where I have resided ever since. Are there limitations that should have cleared me by now or procedures I can follow to clear this all up once and for all? If indeed the charges should be gone by now, is there some way of having them removed from the system so that I don't have cops pulling guns on me and putting me in their back seats while they figure out there's nothing they can do? It's all very embarrassing.

[aaron]

Usually, when you leave a jurisdiction, your absence tolls the statute of limitations.

Given the fact that this charge is 20 years old, you may wish to consider the following:

Contact a criminal defense lawyer in or near the locality where the warrant was issued, and ask how much they would charge to contact the prosecutor to see if you could work out some sort of deal to close the books on the charge. If you like the offer, you can get the charge resolved, and if you don't, well, you are still outside of the 100 mile pick-up range....