Call it a case of being in the right place at the right time, but an observant Chatham-Kent police officer’s efforts led to the arrest of two people wanted in connection with a string of break-and-enter investigations.
On Thursday afternoon, about 1:45 p.m., the officer, while on routine patrol, spotted a vehicle towing a U-Haul trailer exiting a gas bar on Richmond Street in Chatham. The officer identified it as a suspect vehicle associated with multiple ongoing break-and-enter investigations.
Police say the officer informed the Communications Centre and followed the vehicle at a discreet distance while co-ordinating with other nearby officers.
The officer continued tracking the vehicle as it travelled from Richmond Street, north onto Keil Drive, proceeding along various streets north of the river. At one point, the vehicle momentarily eluded the officer’s line of sight, only to be located again, travelling south on Keil Drive without the attached trailer.
As police went to pull over the vehicle, they say the driver attempted to evade them by accelerating, overtaking other vehicles, and releasing a detachable hard top from the vehicle, allowing it to smash on the roadway in front of police cruisers.
Through co-ordinated efforts, an officer successfully deployed a spike belt, effectively deflating the vehicle’s tires and forcing the driver to bring the vehicle to a stop on the roadside.
In what police say was a “commendable display of skill, precision, and teamwork by officers and dispatchers,” the male driver and female passenger were apprehended and taken into custody without harm or injury.
As the suspects and vehicle were searched, police seized property connected to break-and-enters reported on May 28 in Tilbury, on July 15 in Peterborough, and on July 17 in Chatham.
Police also confirmed the vehicle, and the license plates were stolen from a business in Kingsville.
Through investigation, police confirmed the man was bound by a probation order and a release order not to associate with the woman.
The woman was bound by a release order not to associate with the man.
He was also wanted on outstanding warrants for break-and-enter and mischief charges related to several break-and-enter investigations in Chatham-Kent.
A U-Haul was located and is under investigation.
A 32-year-old Windsor man was charged with failing to comply with a probation order, failing to comply with a recognizance, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a police officer, mischief endangering life, possession of stolen property over $5,000, and four counts of possession of property under $5,000.
A 31-year-old Windsor woman was charged with failing to comply with an undertaking, mischief endangering life, possession of stolen property over $5,000, and three counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000.
Both were transported to police headquarters and held pending a bail hearing.
