Charges Filed After Stolen Truck and Stolen Taxi Abandoned at Edmonton International Airport – Edmonton | The Canadian News

Dozens of charges have been filed after a stolen truck was abandoned at Edmonton International Airport, where a taxi was later stolen over the weekend.

It began shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, when RCMP said Wetaskiwin officers spotted a truck with a burned-out headlight driving near Highway 2a and 36th Avenue, at the southern end of the central city. from Alberta.

Police said the officer lost sight of the truck, but continued to patrol to try to find it.

A short time later, the vehicle was located a few miles south on the same highway, near Township Road 460. Police checked the license plate and discovered that the truck had been stolen from Red Deer.

RCMP said police followed the truck from a distance without stopping it, with the help of the Edmonton Police Service Air 1 helicopter, while additional resources were requested to assist.

The truck headed north and headed for Edmonton International Airport, where it stopped near the main terminal.

The RCMP said Wetaskiwin officers and members of the police dog services unit got out of their vehicles and were preparing to approach the stolen truck and arrest those inside, when a suspect forcibly took a taxi. nearby and used bear spray on the driver before pulling away. in the cabin.

“The suspect drove towards the police at high speed in the stolen taxi and did not stop,” said a police statement issued Thursday, adding that no officer was injured.

RCMP said officers tried to follow the stolen taxi and detain the suspect, but it sped away. Mounties followed the vehicle as it headed north into the city, where the Edmonton Police Service took over the chase.

“This was a situation where the actions of these suspects posed a risk to both the public and the police,” Wetaskiwin RCMP Detachment Insp. Keith Durance said.

RCMP said Edmonton police deployed a “tire deflation device” and the stolen taxi was taken into custody. Three people were arrested and handed over to the custody of the RCMP.

“We are grateful that we were able to prevent further crime and successfully apprehended these individuals in partnership with the Edmonton Police Service,” Durance added.

Three Red Deer people were charged with 46 crimes: 19 against Joshua Martin William Howse, 33, while Lindsey Rae Mazzei, 39, was charged with 15 crimes and 13 against Amanda Ray Metro, 34.

The charges included multiple counts of fleeing the police, assaulting a law enforcement officer with a weapon, robbery with a weapon, dangerous operation of a vehicle, and possession of property over $ 5,000.

The three people remain in police custody. Mazzei and Metro were due to appear in Wetaskiwin Provincial Court on Thursday, while Howse was to appear on November 30.