Five arrested, three vehicles seized by Fort St. John RCMP

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Police officers have arrested five people after receiving a tip about a stolen truck found by civilians in Fort St. John.

According to the local RCMP detachment, on the morning of February 19th officers received a report of a pickup truck being stolen from a residential driveway in the city.

Later, between 7:40 and 8:53 p.m. on the same day, police got two reports of the truck being located by residents, stuck in the area of 277 Road near Montney, alongside “numerous suspects” and some other vehicles.

Those residents also reported that some of those suspects had pointed firearms at the people who had located them.

Police officers attended the location and set up a contained area to prevent the suspects from leaving. 

The detachment called in the North District Emergency Response Team to assist in locating and arresting the suspects, and also received help from a civilian drone operator.

Five individuals were arrested in the area, including a 35-year-old who was also wanted on some outstanding warrants.

Three vehicles, including the stolen truck from the initial report, were seized.

“The Fort St John RCMP did an outstanding job responding to this high-risk incident involving armed suspects,” says Fort St. John RCMP officer Jaime Moffat. “Their swift actions and containment of the area ensured the safety of civilians at the scene and led to the arrest of five individuals without incident.”

Moffat also says the incident should act as a reminder for residents to call the police to report suspicious activity, rather than confront potentially dangerous individuals themselves.

All five arrested individuals are still in police custody as of publication time. In the meantime, anyone with information that could help investigators is urged to contact the Fort St. John RCMP detachment at 250-787-8100.