A 28-year-old Regina man has been charged after Fort Qu’Appelle RCMP had to deploy a spike belt to stop a vehicle Sunday evening.
Twenty-eight-year-old Thomas Chartrand has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, theft under $5,000, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a peace officer and driving while prohibited.
Around 6:00 p.m. Sunday evening police received a complaint about a theft of gas and merchandise from a service station in Fort Qu’Appelle.
A description of two suspects and a vehicle was obtained.
Police confirmed the vehicle was stolen earlier in the day from Regina.
Around 90 minutes later a complaint of a suspicious vehicle in the R.M of Abernethy which matched the description of the vehicle involved in the gas theft was made.
An officer observing traffic on Highway 310 north of Balcarres saw a vehicle driving in and out of farmyards.
The officer followed the vehicle which turned off the highway onto a gravel road.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle, but the vehicle refused. The road was a dead end and the suspect made a u-turn and avoided the officer’s attempt to block the road.
The officer disengaged as additional officers were in the area and a spike belt was utilized just north of Balcarres on highway 310.
The spike belt was successful and deflated all four tires on the vehicle. The suspect vehicle continued to refuse to stop at speeds under 40 km/h through Balcarres.
One suspect, a woman, jumped out of the moving vehicle and was arrested, she was later released without any charges.
The suspect vehicle came to a stop and the driver (Chartrand) was arrested without incident.
