A 52-year-old photographer accused of hitting actor Ryan Reynolds with his car last week in Vancouver was previously involved in a scuffle with Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards, CTV News has learned.

Police allege a paparazzo approached Reynolds in the parking lot of the Shangri-La Hotel on Friday evening, which led to a confrontation that ended in a hit-and-run.

“As the photographer fled he struck the victim with his car,” Const. Brian Montague said.

A Richmond resident was identified as a suspect and arrested Sunday evening. He was released Monday on a number of conditions, including that he stay out of Vancouver, and police have recommended a charge of intimidation against him.

Montague said authorities opted for that charge over a count of hit-and-run because of an apparent pattern of behaviour.

“The charge would suggest that this isn’t a one-time incident. This is an individual that is possibly persistent at this,” he said.

Police haven’t released the suspect’s name, but CTV News has identified him as Rik Fedyck and uncovered a handful of previous run-ins with famous actors. In 2006, Fedyck sued Richards and Anderson after he said they trashed his laptops at the River Rock Casino in Richmond.

Fedyck was also a suspect in a hit-and-run in 2010, according to reports, where the victim was Twilight actor Kellen Lutz. No one was charged in the incident, however.

Montague noted a charge of intimidation is uncommon and applies to someone who persistently follows someone or watches where a person lives.

The charge is also defined in the Criminal Code as using violence or threats of violence “for the purpose of compelling another person to abstain from doing anything that he or she has a lawful right to do, or to do anything that he or she has a lawful right to abstain from doing.”

Investigators considered other counts including assault, assault with a weapon, criminal harassment, hit and run and failing to stay at the scene of a crime but intimidation seemed most appropriate, Montague said.

Police and Reynolds’ publicist confirmed on Sunday that he had been struck by a paparazzo, and the hotel released a statement confirming that there was an incident in the building’s residential parking lot and saying that it had offered “full assistance to the authorities who are handling the matter.”

Reynolds is currently in Vancouver for the filming of the Marvel comic book movie Deadpool, for which the Georgia Viaduct has been closed for parts of several days this month.

Reynolds appeared back on the set Saturday, tweeting a photo of himself in costume with another actor.

The actor declined interviews with local media about the hit-and-run, but did say he would speak with the CBC, if they brought back the Beachcombers series.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Jon Woodward