Suspect runs out of gas, lands in South Okanagan RCMP dragnet

The unmarked RCMP car allegedly hit by a suspect trying to avoid capture on Highway 97 near Oliver.

Image Credit: RCMP

August 24, 2013 - 1:12 PM

A 21 year old Kamloops man is cooling his heels in the RCMP lock-up in Penticton. He’s facing numerous charges after allegedly leading police on a merry chase through the South Okanagan on Thursday night.

It all started when an RCMP officer in Summerland tried to pull over the driver of a red Ford SUV who was speeding along Highway 97 toward Penticton. He was going so fast, the officer decided not to chase him and instead called his fellow officers in Penticton to give them a heads up.

RCMP tried to pull over the suspect vehicle on the Channel Parkway in Penticton, but the driver ignored the sirens, and put the peddle to the metal.

The police were worried about public safety, so called off the chase again.

The officers called ahead to their counterparts in Oliver and Osoyoos to warn them about the speeding SUV.

Oliver RCMP spotted the vehicle on Highway 97. According to radar, the driver was doing 140 km/h in 80 and 90 km/h zones. The police again tried to stop the suspect, but he did a u-turn hit the RCMP cruiser, almost head on. The officer behind the wheel suffered some minor injuries.

The driver pulled another u-turn when he saw more police cars coming from the north and headed south going over 140 km/h.

The chase was called off for a third time.

Officers from Oliver, Osoyoos and Penticton combed the Oliver area looking for the SUV or the driver.

“It was a keen sense of observation and good instinct that paid off, when plainclothes Penticton officers observed a nervous male filling up a gas can at the Oliver 7-11 gas station,” Sgt. Ken Harrinton said. “Acting on the odds of probability and police intuition, investigators covertly observed and followed the male who walked away from the pumps and led them back to the suspect vehicle.”

“Apparently a sustained speed of 140 km/h plus had quickly emptied the fuel tank of the suspect’s Red 2001 Ford Explorer.”
The suspect was arrested.

A 21 year old man, most recently from Kamloops, is facing all kinds of criminal code and traffic charges. He also has outstanding arrest warrants from Manitoba. The man is wanted in that province on charges of Assaulting a Police Officer and Resisting Arrest.

He’ll go before a judge at Penticton Provincial Court on Monday.

To contact the reporter for this story, email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331.