A 38-year-old man from Grande Prairie is facing 22 criminal charges, including assaulting a police officer, after driving away from RCMP on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
At 2:15 p.m., Fort Saskatchewan RCMP tried to stop a pickup truck that didn’t have a rear licence plate on 99 Avenue and 104 Street.
The man driving the truck didn’t stop and “took off at a high rate of speed,” RCMP said in a news release Wednesday.
RCMP followed the truck through a rural property on Old Fort Trail in Sturgeon County, where the driver ditched the truck and stole a small car, RCMP said.
Officers allege the driver “swerved intentionally towards two officers who were on foot” trying to arrest him.
“The driver narrowly missed both officers while fleeing again at a high rate of speed.”
Strathcona County RCMP and Alberta RCMP Police dog service joined the effort.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and stopped in the ditch, RCMP said, before he ran away near Range Road 223 and Township Road 532 in Strathcona County.
He was found in a field and arrested.
Michael Robert David Linton, 38, has been charged with:
· Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
· Theft of motor vehicle
· Flight from peace officer
· Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
· Operation of a motor vehicle while prohibited (x2)
· Possession of break-in tools
· Assault on police officer with a weapon (x2)
· Failing to comply with an undertaking
· Failing to comply with a release order (x10)
· Two charges under the Traffic Safety Act
Following a court hearing, Linton was remanded into custody and is awaiting his first court appearance.