Chase man facing charges after a steal-1-get-1 incident
A two-for-one vehicle theft has Chase man, William Copping, facing numerous charges following an extensive police pursuit. On Wednesday, Jan.
3 at 5 a.m., Chase RCMP received a report of a stolen tow truck, with a pick-up truck still loaded on it from a previous incident earlier in the night. “The two suspects were unable to remove the pick-up truck from the tow truck,” Staff Sgt.
Barry Kennedy said in a media release. “So, they decided to steal the tow truck with the pick up still on it.” In the getaway, the suspect drove through the property’s locked metal gate, destroying it, which alerted a neighbour who then started following in their vehicle but stopped after the tow truck allegedly attempted to hit them. The witness alerted police to the last known location of the stolen truck, with police able to track it from there by following tire tracks left in the fresh snow through Turtle Valley, but lost them on the wet pavement on Squilax-Anglemont Road.
Conducting patrols in the area, police learned that the tow truck had been seen driving up the 670 Forest Service Road near Scotch Creek, where they found it stopped about 30 kilometres up. As officers approached, the suspects fled in the truck, leading them to the Seymour Arm Forest Service Road, where they then turned west back toward Anglemont. “During this trek, the tow truck attempted, on two occasions, to reverse into the police vehicle to disable it,” Kennedy said, adding that officers were able to avoid a collision.
The pursuit continued for about another 45 kilometres until a spike belt was deployed near Talana Bay on Squilax-Anglemont Road, deflating all six tires on the tow truck and bringing it to a stop. Two men then attempted to flee on foot, but officers were able to contain them in a gravel pit area where one was arrested while the second managed to escape. William Davis Copping, 44, is facing charges of theft over £5,000, possession of stolen property over £5,000 and evading police, with Kennedy adding that “further charges are expected.”
Copping was released from custody with numerous conditions following a bail hearing on Jan.
4 and is to appear in the Kamloops Law Courts on Monday, Jan.
8.
References
- ^ Salmon Arm RCMP respond to call involving fabricated gun, alleged ‘madam’ (www.saobserver.net)
- ^ Salmon Arm woman forks out threats over allegedly stolen cutlery (www.saobserver.net)