An attempted arrest on Montreal Lake Cree Nation led to an overland pursuit by RCMP earlier this week.
As a result two Montreal Lake men are face a long list of charges.
According to RCMP, on April 23 at approximately 4:30 p.m., Waskesiu/Montreal Lake RCMP officers determined a wanted man was in a residence on Montreal Lake Cree Nation.
As Waskesiu/Montreal Lake RCMP and Saskatchewan RCMP’s Meadow Lake Crime Reduction Team approached the residence, two men ran out and got into a vehicle. Officers blocked the vehicle from leaving and the males ran into a nearby wooded area.
Officers worked to locate the men. They observed them in the woods, wading across a river.
Officers located the men in the forest with the assistance of Saskatchewan RCMP’s Critical Incident Response Team, Prince Albert Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team, Police Dog Services, Containment Team, Remote Piloted Aircraft System, as well as Saskatoon Police Service’s Air Support Unit. The men were arrested without incident at around 8:30 p.m.
The men appeared to be suffering from exposure to the elements and received first aid from the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Emergency Medical Response Team.
“These males, one on a Canada-wide warrant and one just released from jail a couple of weeks ago, were determined to evade police,” Insp. Jeff Smoliak from Saskatchewan RCMP’s Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Team said in a press release. “They ran – with no shirts or shoes on – into a thick wooded area, even crossing a frigid river in an attempt to avoid arrest.
“We have the investigational knowledge and technology to locate individuals, even in rugged terrain. Through the teamwork of Waskesiu/Montreal Lake RCMP, multiple Saskatchewan RCMP units, as well as Saskatoon Police Service’s Air Support Unit, the males were arrested, and an illegal firearm and illicit drugs were removed from the community of Montreal Lake.”
Officers searched the SUV the men tried to flee in. They found and seized roughly 3.5 grams of crack-cocaine and a large sum of cash in one of the male’s possession during the arrests. Officers also found and seized a loaded shotgun with a defaced serial number, ammunition, 20 grams of methamphetamine, two batons, a can of bear spray and trafficking paraphernalia.
As a result of continued investigation, 23-year-old Tyrese Smith and 32-year-old Craig McDonald, both from Montreal Lake Cree Nation, are each charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, one count of possession of the proceeds of crimes, one count of possession of a firearm knowingly without license, one count of occupy a vehicle with a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm with the serial number removed, two counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited, three counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one count of resist arrest.
Smith was also arrested on a Canada-wide warrant from Correctional Service Canada for breach of statutory release conditions, and from Saskatoon Police Service for being unlawfully at large.
McDonald and Smith appeared in Prince Albert Provincial Court on April 25.
