Three Central Okanagan men are currently in custody and facing a multitude of charges, essentially as a result of failing to heed to an initial warning given by a Clearwater RCMP officer to slow down.

On Wednesday, May 4, at 1:30 pm, a Clearwater RCMP officer was on patrol northbound on Highway 5 south of Little Fort, B.C. The officer observed through his rearview mirror two vehicles, also northbound, that were speeding.

The officer pulled over to the side of the road and in an attempt to simply slow the vehicles down and carry on with his other duties, he activated his rear emergency lights to get the drivers' attention. The two vehicles then increased their speed and sped past him.

The officer quickly rethought his strategy and activated his lights and siren and attempted to stop the vehicles, however it quickly became apparent that the vehicles were not going to stop.

As a result of the risk posed, the officer discontinued his attempts to stop the two vehicles. Extensive patrols conducted in the Little Fort area failed to locate the green Dodge Neon and blue VW Jetta.

An officer did note fresh skid marks on Highway 24 turning off the highway onto a logging road, and came across a motorist who gave the typical nod and they went that a-way, when asked if he had seen the suspect cars.

The suspect vehicles were eventually located four km up Blowdown Road, with the three males sitting on the ground behind the vehicles.

Upon seeing police the suspects jumped back in their vehicles and tried to drive away, unfortunately for them the vehicles got stuck. The three subjects then ran into the bush.

The officer noted that the vehicles were left in gear with wheels spinning. The antics of the trio were all caught on police dash cam video, stated Sgt Kevin Podbisky of Clearwater RCMP.

Backup arrived from 100 Mile House and Barriere detachments, along with a Police Service Dog team from Kamloops and the RCMP Air Services helicopter. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of ammunition and a total of two shotguns and an airgun pistol. One shotgun was found loaded with four shells.

The area was contained by the attending members and after a three-hour dog track, the three subjects were located and taken into custody without incident.

The three men, who originate from the Central Okanagan area, currently remain in custody and are facing the following charges in addition to the three having numerous warrants for their arrest:

Mark Pauls, 31 years old

• Flight from Police

• Possession of Stolen Property – Vehicle

• Possession of Stolen Property – Licence plate

• Drive While Prohibited - Criminal Code of Canada

• Possession of a Weapon contrary

• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm (times two).

• Possession of Stolen Property – Firearm

• Careless Storage of a Firearm

• Breach of Conditional Service Order.

• Prohibition from possession firearm

Andrew Shreenam, 34 years old

• Possession of Stolen Property – Vehicle

• Possession of Stolen Property – Licence Plate

• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm (times two)

• Possession of a firearm in a vehicle

• Possession of a stolen firearm

• Breech of Probation

William Hill, 26 years old

• Flight from Police

• Drive While Prohibited (times two) Motor Vehicle Act

• Possession of ammunition while prohibited

• Unlicensed Driver – Motor Vehicle Act

• Breach of Probation (times two)