A 20-year-old man accused of trying to flee from RCMP officers who fired shots to stop him was in court on Tuesday.
Two suspects were injured in connection with a wild police chase that saw police officers fire shots twice as they tried to arrest three people in a stolen pickup on Oct. 13, 2017.
Nicholas James Wales Wales is facing a number of charges, including assault with a weapon, failing to stop for police, two counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000, two counts of break and enter, uttering threats and resisting arrest.
Wales appeared by closed-circuit TV from the Red Deer Remand Centre during a brief afternoon appearance in Red Deer provincial court.
Wales’ case was put over to Jan. 24 when he is expected to choose how he wants to be tried and possibly enter pleas to his charges.
A bail hearing is also expected to be held soon to determine if Wales will be released from custody. He has been in custody since his arrest.
RCMP were alerted of a pickup being driven erratically in the Sundre area about 9 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2017. A person was injured when their vehicle was allegedly struck by the suspect’s vehicle.
Around 4:30 p.m. police tried to stop the suspect vehicle north of Sylvan Lake and shots were fired.
Police pursued the truck and an RCMP vehicle was rammed, said police. The pickup veered into the ditch and two men fled.
RCMP allege the suspects stole another vehicle, took off and had “multiple interactions” with police vehicles before RCMP officers opened fire again.
The truck ended up in a ditch. The driver and a female passenger were both treated in hospital. A male passenger was uninjured.
A woman is also facing several charges in connection with the incident.
Part of the incident was captured on a passerby’s dashcam. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the incident.
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