Charges have now been laid in connection to a police pursuit of a vehicle outside the Battlefords Thursday morning.
Battlefords RCMP are reporting that continued investigation by Battlefords RCMP and Provincial General Investigation Section has resulted in formal charges laid against a 27 year old man from Onion Lake, Saskatchewan.
Jordan Grant Waskewitch, 27 years old from Onion Lake, Saskatchewan, is charged with the following offences:
• Operate a motor vehicle while being pursued by police, Sec 239.1(1) CC
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, Sec 88 CC
• Fail to comply with a breath demand, Sec 254(5) CC
• Possession of a prohibited device, 91(2) CC
• Possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, Sec 5(2) CDSA
• Operate a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner, 249(1)(a) CC
• Possess a firearm without a licence, Sec 91(1) CC
Waskewitch was one of two people arrested following the vehicle pursuit, and was charged following continued investigation by Battlefords RCMP and the Provincial General Investigation Section.
The accused has been remanded in custody and will make his first court appearance in Battlefords Provincial Court on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 at 9:30 am.
As for details of the incident itself: as reported by police, on Jan. 11 Battlefords RCMP along with Provincial and Municipal General Investigation Sections responded to a criminal complaint.
That morning, they located the suspect vehicle of their investigation and tried to pull the vehicle over. The driver, however, failed to stop for police and a monitored pursuit was engaged.
Police report the suspect vehicle then entered Battleford town limits; at that point, the police pursuit had to be terminated due to public safety concerns.
Soon after the vehicle was located again in a rural location, and police then monitored it to determine if tire deflation devices could be utilized to disable the vehicle.
However, the vehicle was driven erratically to avoid this course of action by police. The vehicle soon fled into the rural area south of Battleford.
Eventually, the vehicle was found stuck in a field. Police caught up with the vehicle and according to the RCMP, the driver was observed fleeing on foot while the passenger remained in the vehicle. After a brief foot chase, it was Waskewitch who was taken into custod. The adult female passenger was also taken into custody. but there is no word of charges being laid as of yet.
The police investigation that followed resulted in seizure of an assault rifle, high capacity magazine and a quantity of drugs that police believe to be cocaine.
There was no damage to persons or property during this portion of the investigation.
