ST. PAUL - Charges have been laid against two men, following an incident that resulted in a police vehicle being rammed, and the seizure of a firearm.
On April 27, St. Paul RCMP received a report of a theft of a truck from outside a residence in St. Paul, according to RCMP. Then, at about 4:30 p.m., RCMP responded to a report of a possible impaired driver in Saddle Lake that matched the description of the stolen truck.
"The truck was located by a member of the Eastern Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit and an attempt to stop it by activating emergency lights was unsuccessful," reads the media release, dated April 29. "The truck proceeded to flee and while stopped at an intersection, it reversed and rammed into the police vehicle. After the collision the truck fled again."
A police vehicle made tactical contact to stop the truck from further potential risk to the public.
While the truck was stopped a second time, two men exited. One of the men pointed a firearm at an officer before fleeing on foot. No shots were fired, confirmed RCMP.
Both men were arrested and taken into custody a short time later.
With assistance of the RCMP Police Dog Services the firearm was also located and seized by police. The officer that was in the vehicle while it was rammed suffered minor injuries and has since been released from hospital.
Freddy Cardinal, 22, of Saddle Lake and Bailey Mason, 22, of no fixed address were jointly charged with possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a weapon without a license, careless storage of a firearm, careless use of a firearm, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Cardinal was also charged with: dangerous operation of a motor vehicle; assaulting a police officer with a weapon; and resisting arrest.
Bailey Mason was also charged: failing to comply with probation; failing to comply with a release order (x2); pointing a firearm; resisting arrest; using a firearm in the commission of an offence; and possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order.
Both of the accused were remanded into custody after a judicial hearing and will be appearing in St. Paul Provincial Court on April 30.
