Crime spree starts with stolen truck in Kelowna and ends in a pond in Abbotsford

Police officers across multiple jurisdictions worked together to bring a pair of alleged car thieves into custody last week.

Around 11 pm on Feb. 18, a suspicious pickup truck parked at a housing complex on Luckakuck Way in Chilliwack was reported to the RCMP.

Officers quickly linked the pickup to a vehicle previously reported stolen out of Kelowna.

Instead of making any immediate moves, they monitored the vehicle as they gathered evidence, which led them to a parking lot in New Westminster.

There, the occupants abandoned the first stolen truck in exchange for a second vehicle, which was also allegedly stolen.

“The investigation continued taking police to a service station in Langley where the truck collided with a Chilliwack RCMP police vehicle before speeding away,” said a police release.

“A 27-year-old man from Calgary running away from the vehicle was arrested by police following a brief foot chase.”

A short time later, the vehicle was spotted by the an officer with the Abbotsford Police Department who attempted to pull over the car.

The remaining suspect, a 25-year-old from Calgary, failed to stop for police and ended up crashing the vehicle into a pond.

James Chartrand, 27, is charged with failure to comply with a condition of release, while Sabastian Thomas Tait, 25, faces a number of charges.

They include possession of a motor vehicle obtained by crime, operation of a conveyance dangerous to public, failure to stop for police, operating a motor vehicle while prohibited and two counts of failure to comply with a condition of release.

“Criminals travel across jurisdictional boundaries to commit crime and law enforcement agencies work together across jurisdictional boundaries to apprehend them,” says Cpl. Mike Rail.

Both men remain in custody at this time.