Stolen shotgun recovered after lengthy police pursuit through Airdrie and Calgary
3 people were arrested and are now facing charges
UPDATE: Airdrie RCMP have laid a combined total of over 80 charges against two men and one woman.
RCMP recovered a stolen, sawed-off shotgun and arrested three people early Sunday after a lengthy chase of a stolen truck and trailer wound from Airdrie to Calgary and back again.
The chase began in Airdrie about 1 a.m., when officers on patrol stopped a Ford F-150 towing a trailer with no lights on East Lake Crescent, according to a press release from RCMP.
The driver told police he was trying to fix the lights and then suddenly took off, nearly hitting another RCMP cruiser arriving to assist.
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The truck went the wrong way down streets in Airdrie before the driver got onto Highway 2 and headed south through Calgary at a high rate of speed.
The Calgary police HAWCS helicopter followed the truck as it entered city limits, where the driver pulled over and with the help of the occupants, tried to unhook the trailer.
They only got it partially unhooked before police caught up with them once again. The truck took off with the trailer "bouncing all over the road" before it broke away and rolled across the highway, said the police release.
The truck headed north on rural roads toward Airdrie and the helicopter was able to relay a location for a spike belt to be set up. It was successful and the truck came to a stop near Yankee Valley Blvd. and Eighth Street.
Three people got out of the truck and fled. Two of them were arrested quickly and a police dog was used to find the third, who was hiding under the deck of a nearby home.
Police said in the release: "The suspect was found to be high on drugs and concealing a knife."
Police also found a loaded, sawed-off shotgun in another yard nearby. They say it was tossed there by the suspect.
Further investigation found the truck and trailer to be stolen as well as the shotgun.
Ski masks and various break-in tools were also found in the truck.
Anyone with information is asked to call Const. Cassondra Greene 403-945-7200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Clarifications
- An earlier version of this story suggested the vehicle had paused on Highway 3, when its occupants attempted to unhook the trailer. This information was based on an earlier RCMP release, which was later corrected.Jan 21, 2018 5:09 PM MT