Airdrie RCMP arrested two men and a woman after a long pursuit involving a truck and trailer that started and ended in Airdrie but that went into some Calgary neighbourhoods and involved the Calgary Police Service HAWCS helicopter.  Now the three are facing charges including possession of stolen property and possessing a sawed-off shotgun.

Airdrie RCMP Constable Dan Martin says the incident started just after 1:00 am Sunday (January 21) morning when RCMP members who were on patrol saw a suspicious Ford F-150 truck pulling a trailer withoout its lights on.  Members stopped the vehicle on East Lake Crescent.

Martin says, "The driver advised he was pulling over to fix his lights and then a few short moments later, took off on police.  It took off at a high rate of speed and was travelling in the wrong direction on the streets within Airdrie.  The vehicle nearly collided head-on with another RCMP vehicle that was attending to the area to assist."

The vehicle eventually made its way towards Highway 2 and headed for Calgary.  Calgary Police Service (CPS) was notified and their HAWCS helicopter was deployed to find and then follow the truck.  It ventured into some Calgary communities before coming back on Highway 2 north. Martin says the driver then attempted to ditch the trailer it was pulling.

"He was spooked, I guess, by police that he saw in the area and took off again with a trailer that wasn't fully attached to the vehicle."  That's when things got even more dangerous for other motorists, says Martin.  "The trailer eventually broke away from the vehicle and rolled and crossed several lanes of the highway." 

CPS HAWCS followed the truck towards Airdrie and were able to give Airdrie RCMP its location so they could set up a spike belt which they successfully deployed.  The vehicle continued towards Yankee Valley Boulevard and 8th Street before finally losing control and coming to a stop. 

The three occupants of the truck tried to escape on foot but two were quickly apprehended by Airdrie RCMP.  The third continued to run and an RCMP Police Dog was used to track the suspect who was found hiding under a deck in the Luxstone community.  The man was determined to be high on drugs and was also concealing a knife.  Martin says that wasn't all that was found by the Police Dog.  

"The Police Service Dog was able to locate a loaded, sawed-off shotgun which had been tossed, quite dangerously, into the backyard of a residence in the Luxstone area."

The Airdrie RCMP took two men and a woman into custody who are facing numerous charges.

Martin says the truck and trailer and the sawed-off shotgun were all found to have been stolen and several break-in tools and ski masks were located in the vehicle.   

The suspects won't be identified until charges have been formally laid.  The Airdrie RCMP are also asking anyone who witnessed any part of this incident to contact them. 

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