Whitehorse RCMP arrested three suspects following the alleged theft of a truck, an armed robbery and a high-speed flight from police.
Per a May 14 press release from the Yukon RCMP, police are investigating a “series of occurrences” that occurred in Whitehorse on May 13.
Late in the afternoon on May 13, police had been requesting that the public steer clear of the Granger area due to an “ongoing incident.”
“Additionally, if you see a male with a dark hoodie carrying a red bag – do not engage, call 911 immediately,” read the news release, which indicated more information will be released as it becomes available.
READ MORE: Large police presence amid ‘ongoing incident’ in Whitehorse’s Granger area
An update later that day indicated there’s “no further threat to the public” amid a large police presence in Granger.
At 6:32 p.m., Yukon RCMP took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce the situation had been resolved and police were still “holding the scene” on Hamilton Boulevard.
Yukon RCMP released limited information about what happened the day of the incident but followed up with a May 14 update: Police say the situation began at around 1:10 p.m. when they got a call about a vehicle stolen from Cobalt Construction on Range Road in Whitehorse.
Police said the stolen vehicle quickly left the site of the theft; they believe more than one person was involved. Although the stolen vehicle was located multiple times, it continued to flee from police.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., police received another call, this one about an armed robbery happening at the Heather’s Haven convenience store in the city’s Porter Creek neighbourhood that involved the stolen vehicle.
Two armed and masked people went into the shop and demanded cash from the worker, while a third masked individual waited outside. Police said the worker complied and the suspects left.
The driver of the stolen truck continued driving around Whitehorse at “dangerously high speeds with complete disregard for the public, nearly causing numerous collisions,” according to the release.
Police said they used a spike strip to try to stop the runaway vehicle. However, the driver refused to halt.
The suspect truck was eventually disabled on Hamilton Boulevard and the driver was taken into custody, but the passenger ran away into the Granger neighbourhood.
Police dogs tracked down the passenger at a nearby home and they were brought into custody.
The third suspect was found in another vehicle, that was previously reported as stolen, near Squatters Road on the outskirts of Whitehorse, per police. They ran away, police dogs were put into action and that third person was located and taken in.
The release notes Tyrell Sidney, Nathan Ouimet and Kody Smith were all scheduled to appear in court on May 14 for their charges. It also states that Sidney was released March 20 after similar charges related to numerous stolen vehicles and property and flight from police on multiple occasions.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com