Three men have been arrested on a slew of charges after taking Cold Lake RCMP on a harrowing two-part chase.
The incident began around 6:30 in the evening on the 19th, with police being called in to an attempted vehicle theft in the Tri-City Mall area. The suspects were quickly located after fleeing in a car that was determined to be stolen from Edmonton. The driver then rammed the car into an RCMP cruiser an effort to escape, but proceeded to run over a tree and hit another parked car. Two of the men fled on foot while a third was caught at the scene.
A few hours later, a Cold Lake Peace Officer reported that his Peace Officer truck was stolen by the same two men. This resulted in another chase with the truck falling into a ditch and the suspects again fleeing on foot. Police dogs were called in to track the two down, who were found a short while later. Both were hospitalized from wounds received from the dogs.
Soloman Lawrence Nest, 32 years old of Edmonton, was the man caught at the mall and faces a charge of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000 and was subsequently released on a Recognizance with conditions to attend Cold Lake Provincial Court on March 9th at 10 AM.
Travis David Graham McKeen, 23 years old of Sherwood Park, faces a total of 22 charges under the Criminal Code and 2 charges under the Traffic Safety Act. Among the charges laid are: Flight from Police, Dangerous Driving, Failing to Remain at the Scene of an Accident, Assaulting a Police Officer with a Weapon, Resisting Arrest, Driving While Disqualified, Failing to Comply with a Recognizance, Break & Enter to a Dwelling House, Theft of Truck Over $5000, as well as additional charges.
Christopher Castor, 29 years old of Edmonton, faces a total of 7 charges under the Criminal Code. Charges laid are: Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000, Theft of Truck Over $5000, Fail To Remain at the Scene of an Accident, Failing to Comply With a Probation Order, Failing to Comply With a Recognizance x 2, and Resisting Arrest.
Christopher Castor and Travis McKeen have been remanded into custody and will next appear at Cold Lake Provincial Court tomorrow at 10 a.m. Travis KcKeen is also set to appear on 8 unrelated and additional charges at Sherwood Park Provincial Court on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at 09:30 a.m.