FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A prolific property offender in the Peace region is facing numerous charges after ramming multiple RCMP vehicles in Dawson Creek and fleeing to Fort St. John.
Matthew Edmund Duffy is charged with assaulting a police officer, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, and obstruction.
At around 6:20 p.m. on June 4th, Fort St. John RCMP received a report of theft from a residence. The detachment said the suspect was driving a Dodge pickup truck and was last seen driving southbound on Highway 97. Police believe the truck had been stolen a few days earlier.
Shortly before midnight on June 5th, Dawson Creek police got a report of a suspicious vehicle and headed to the Bannister Ford dealership.
Once officers were on the scene, the Duffy reportedly rammed multiple RCMP vehicles with the pickup while trying to escape.
Police say Duffy fled the scene at a high speed and showed dangerous driving behaviour. Mounties with the Dawson Creek detachment quickly contacted the Fort St. John RCMP to inform them that he may be heading in their direction.
Fort St. John police used a tire deflation device, which caused the truck to go off the road and into the ditch in the area of Highway 97 and 96A Street. Police say Duffy then took off on foot, and police dog services were called in, with police dog Mako assisting in locating him.
Police say Duffy was then arrested without incident and held in custody. He was wanted on multiple previous warrants, including possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, theft under $5,000, flight from police, dangerous operation of a conveyance, break and enter and six counts of breach of release order.
Energeticcity received a report from two Taylor residents who say that while driving to get pictures of the moon Sunday night, Duffy attempted to ram their vehicle, blinding them with the light bar on the Dodge pickup before running them off the road.
The driver of the vehicle, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were driving in Taylor with their friend when Duffy veered toward them in a pickup truck.
“He was half in his lane, half in my lane, and so I decided to veer toward the side of the road to get away from him and give him some space,” the anonymous driver stated.
They said that once they did that, Duffy suddenly steered toward her vehicle.
“So I swerved to get away from him. And at that point, I was half on and off the road. Then he swerved again, which caused us to run off the road completely.”
Police could not confirm those reports at this time, however, both Dawson Creek and Fort St. John RCMP detachments continue to investigate.
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