The afternoon of Sunday, June 30, was not only hot on the temperature scale, but the heat was also on for Barriere RCMP to quickly put a stop to a male car thief they had been notified would be traveling south through Barriere.
Barriere Detachment Cst. Evan Cadwallader says this was the second vehicle that the male had stolen that day, and that the vehicle contained a therapy dog that he also stole.
To put a stop to the getaway, police deployed a spike belt on the Yellowhead Highway and the vehicle was disabled, but the driver continued to travel through Barriere losing pieces of the vehicles’ tires along the roadway.
The vehicle, a white Ford 4x4, then accelerated through the fence of the Mountain Springs Motel, where it came to rest on the lawn.
The male exited the vehicle and was able to barricade himself in a motel bathroom for 20 minutes until finally surrendering to police.
The male now faces eight charges from the Barriere incident alone, and remained in custody last Tuesday when he was scheduled to appear in Kamloops Provincial Court.
According to Clearwater RCMP,
According to Clearwater RCMP, the local detachment was advised on June 30 at about 4 p.m. of a vehicle theft in progress at the Jims Food Market in Little Fort.
The thief was described as a short male with blond hair, tattoos and no shirt. This male was known to the Clearwater RCMP as he had also stolen a vehicle earlier in the day. After being arrested and released with court documents (as per policy) he continued to make his way home to Abbotsford.
"Apparently, he thought stealing another vehicle instead of taking the bus would be the best way to do so," commented Clearwater's RCMP Cst. Ashton Phillips.
After stealing the vehicle he continued southbound on Yellowhead Highway 5. Clearwater RCMP notified Barriere RCMP of the stolen vehicle and asked them to keep an eye open.
Within minutes of the call, Barriere RCMP spotted the vehicle and began to engage. The suspect refused to stop, ramming several vehicle and swerving into the oncoming lane before Barriere RCMP were able to engage the spike belt.
The suspect slowed down before driving into a field and taking off on foot until he reached a set of washrooms attached to the Mountain Springs Hotel where he ran into the male washroom. Barriere members surrounded the washroom for several minutes until the suspect came out.
"The owners of the vehicle were terrified the whole time. Why? Because their dog was in the back of the stolen vehicle," said Phillips. "They were ecstatic when they were told the dog was still with the truck, safe and sound."
Look for an update on this story in a future issue of the Clearwater Times.