The use of a spike belt helped police bring a St. John’s man, who was wanted for other offences, into custody after a dramatic sequence of events that started with a gas and dash at a gas station near Springdale.
A blue Ford Ranger gassed up at around 7:30 Friday morning but left without paying.
According to police, the same vehicle was located a short time later by RCMP from the Grand Falls-Windsor detachment, but it failed to obey their flashing lights.
Officers decided not to pursue the truck after it sped from the scene. RCMP say the same truck was later seen speeding in the wrong lane, narrowly avoiding colliding with oncoming vehicles. That’s when police decided to deploy the spike belt, finally bringing the truck to a stop on the Trans Canada near Gander.
Forty-four year-old Robert Reid, who was prohibited from driving and showed signs of impairment, was taken into custody. It turns out that Reid was also wanted by Corrections Canada for a parole violation and by RNC for breaches of a court order. He is now facing a list of charges including two counts of theft under $5000 dollars, flight from police, dangerous driving, driving while prohibited, impaired driving, and possession of stolen property.