Dozens of officers respond to high-speed, wrong-way crime spree across Edmonton

EDMONTON — What started as a shoplifting call to Edmonton police early Thursday morning turned into a crime spree that stretched across the city and into Strathcona County. The series of events included attempted home invasions, an armed robbery, and a high-speed getaway – going the wrong way down one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.

Just after midnight Thursday, two police officers responded to a shoplifting call in a parkade near 109 Street and Whyte Avenue. Described by police as a “low-level” call, it turned out to be anything but.

After the officers approached, “the two suspects, a male and a female, then struck the cruiser and then went on about an hour, hour and a half crime spree,” Edmonton Police spokesman Scott Pattison said.

The suspects fled in a stolen Toyota Tundra and headed to the Belgravia area, where they abandoned the truck and allegedly tried to get into three different homes, confronting one home owner at gunpoint.

Police said the pair then stole a Volkswagen Tiguan from another home. Officers tried unsuccessfully to stop the vehicle with a spike belt, and the vehicle sped away, heading the wrong way on Gateway Boulevard, at more than 150 km/h.

While a police helicopter circled overhead, police said the suspects made a stop at a convenience store near 17 Street and 23 Avenue in the city’s southeast, where they allegedly robbed the store clerk at gunpoint.

The suspects then headed out the Whitemud Freeway to the Anthony Henday, where they were involved in a minor collision and what police describe as a “failed car-jacking attempt.”

Officers finally caught up to the pair on Range Road 233 in Sherwood Park, immobilizing their vehicle and arresting them with the help of canine members.

Jake Wells, 23, and Adara Gunnarson, 26, are facing multiple charges, including break and enter, armed robbery, weapons charges, and traffic-related charges.

In all, 55 police officers, from both EPS and RCMP, responded to the crime spree.

“Certainly, not all calls for service require this level of extensive response,” Southwest Division Inspector Erik Johnson said. “But it definitely paints a vivid picture of how a simple shoplifting call can stretch police resources to the max on any given day, not to mention the hours of paperwork required thereafter.”