Police helicopter, tire spikes foil truck thief in Edmonton: RCMP

RCMP said this truck was stolen by a man who was arrested in Edmonton on December 9, 2023. (Supplied)

Police say a 44-year-old truck thief and dangerous driver from Edson, Alta., is facing six charges after he was brought down with the help of a helicopter and tire spikes.

RCMP and officers from the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team were patrolling in Stony Plain, west of Edmonton, on Dec. 9 when they spotted a suspicious Ford F-350.

"The licence plate did not match the vehicle and it was discovered that the Ford F-350 was stolen from Hinton the week previous," Const. Deanna Hagen wrote in a Wednesday news release.

"A traffic stop was attempted but the vehicle fled from police at a high rate of speed."

RCMP say they did not chase the suspect driver but the Edmonton Police Service's Air1 helicopter tracked it.

"A tire deflation device was successfully deployed in the city of Edmonton where a lone occupant was taken into custody without incident. The suspect is known to police," Hagen stated.

The man is facing charges of:

The accused was remanded into custody and scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Parkland RCMP at 825-220-7267 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).