Penticton RCMP apprehended a man driving a stolen vehicle who attempted to flee from police at 10 a.m. this morning.
The vehicle was stolen from Kelowna and spotted in Penticton by a witness who knew the vehicle’s owner. According to a release from the Penticton South Okanagan Similkameen Regional RCMP Detachment, the witness dialed 911 and reported seeing the vehicle on Braid Street.
Officers, with the assistance of the Targeted Enforcement Unit and General Investigation sections, converged into the 600 block of Braid St. and conducted plainclothes surveillance of the vehicle. According to the release, the officers attempted to block the vehicle in and stop the suspect from fleeing, but the driver decided to ram his way out and drive into a fence, at which point he reversed and slammed into another fence, narrowly missing an officer and police vehicle in the process.
“Due to the extreme danger the driver was putting the officers in, a police vehicle was used to push against the vehicle’s rear bumper, pinning it against a fence, preventing it from driving away,” said Constable James Grandy in the release. “While the driver was trying to accelerate forward, officers ran toward it and were able to break a window and remove the driver. After a short struggle with officers, the man was successfully taken into custody.”
The accused, a 39-year-old man who frequents the North Okanagan, now faces numerous charges of possessing stolen property, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and assaulting police.
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<>Jordyn Thomson | Reporter
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