Man arrested on Highway 102 after attempting to flee from police

A 38-year-old Nova Scotia man who was wanted for multiple offences is being held in jail until next week after being taken into custody Thursday by the RCMP on Highway 102 near Shubenacadie.

Stephen Joseph (Dakota) Maloney, 38, was arrested after fleeing police. Some of the charges he faces are related to intimate partner violence.

In a release Friday, RCMP say that prior to his arrest Maloney was driving erratically in the wrong direction on the divided highway.

They had tried to stop his car by deploying a spike belt on a side road where he was travelling, but he kept driving.

A provincial government helicopter tracked the vehicle and helped police pursue it onto the main highway. An RCMP emergency response team with the aid of police dogs were able to make an arrest.

Maloney is facing charges including flight from a peace officer, forcible confinement and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. 

There was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop. Police determined that person was a victim and released them.

Maloney suffered minor injuries and was treated in hospital.

On the same day he is to appear for a bail hearing on these charges, Maloney is also to be sentenced for prior convictions on charges that include mischief, dangerous operation of a vehicle, theft, assault and driving while disqualified.

RCMP acknowledged in its release that the arrest, which forced the closure of the highway in both directions for a time, was probably upsetting to people coming upon the scene.