Prince George, B.C.-    Charges have now  been laid  in connection with  the arrests  noted yesterday.

On Wednesday December 16^th, 2015, the Prince George RCMP received a report of a stolen GMC pick-up from the driveway of a residence on Shelley Road, east of Prince George.

The next day, the Prince George RCMP’s Street Crew Unit located the stolen truck being driven off Tabor Boulevard onto Eaglenest Crescent in Prince George.  The truck was located abandoned in the middle of the road a few minutes later.  A Police Dog Service team attended the area and tracked two suspects over a number of fences, through a number of yards and across four streets where they were located on Antler Avenue.  Both suspects were taken into custody without further incident, although the male provided police with a false name.

20 year old Sam Anthony Rossetti of Prince George has been charged with the following offences:

• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5000
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime under $5000
• Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
• Obstruction
• Possession of a Controlled Substance
• Fail to Comply with Probation (2 counts)

Rossetti was remanded in custody at least until his next court date scheduled for Tuesday January 5^th, 2015.

A 17 year old female resident of Prince George has been charged by Provincial Crown Counsel with the following offences:

• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5000
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime under $5000 (2 counts)
• Possession of Break-in Instruments
• Break & Enter to Steal Firearm
• Weapons Trafficking
• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
• Trafficking in Stolen Property
• Possession of a Stolen Firearm

The last five charges are in relation to a Break & Enter on a rural property this past summer.  On June 24^th, 2015, two rifles were stolen from a property on Inga Road, near Prince George.  One rifle has been recovered, but an Accuracy International Bolt Action .338 Lapua Magnum has not been recovered.  The youth female is believed to have been responsible for the theft and sale of the guns.

The accused female youth will appear in Provincial Court later today.  Due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, her name cannot be released.

At approximately 9:00 AM on Saturday December 19^th, 2015 the Prince George RCMP’s Street Crew Unit located what they believed to be two stolen Ford trucks being driven on the Willowcale Forest Service Road, near the southern border of the City of Prince George.

Officers attempted to pull over the vehicles, but both drivers attempted to flee from police.  Shortly after, the driver of one of the trucks, a white Ford F-150, jumped out of the still moving truck and got into the other truck, a blue Ford F-350, while it was moving and being driven by another suspect.

In an attempt to stop the fleeing vehicle, members of the Prince George RCMP’s General Duty Section deployed a spike belt along Buckhorn Lake Road.  The suspects drove over the spike belt, causing significant damage to the tires.  Despite this, the suspect driver continued to attempt to flee from police, now on two tires and two rims.

Traveling at a high rate of speed north bound on Highway 97 towards Prince George, the suspect driver attempted to force an oncoming fully marked police car off the road, narrowly missing  a collision with the  police vehicle.  The suspect driver continued in the wrong lane towards oncoming traffic.  Moments later, the fleeing vehicle went into the ditch and rolled onto its side near the intersection of Highway 97 and Bowron Road.

One suspect fled into a wooded area shortly before police arrived on scene.  Two other suspects, a male and a female both known to police, were taken into custody as they crawled out of the vehicle.

Police Service Dog ‘Azar’ and his handler attended the scene and began to track the first suspect.  The track went for approximately two kilometres through deep snow before officers located a male crouching in the brush.  Police announced themselves, advised the suspect he was under arrest and instructed him to come out.  The suspect jumped to his feet and again began to flee.  The suspect was warned that the police dog would be released if he did not stop.  Despite this, the suspect kept running.

‘Azar’ was deployed and within seconds apprehended the suspect who began to punch and kick at the police dog.  The suspect was placed in handcuffs and escorted to an awaiting BC Ambulance.  He was transported to the University Hospital of Northern BC for treatment of minor bite wounds and minor injuries sustained when the stolen vehicle went off the road.

Police Service Dog ‘Azar’ was checked and was found to be uninjured.

Through continued investigation, police were able to confirm that the white Ford F-150 had been stolen out of Quesnel earlier that morning and that the blue Ford F-350 had been stolen from a residence on Quam Avenue in Prince George earlier that morning.  Evidence and stolen property was seized in the stolen vehicles and in the suspects’ possession.  Further investigation has led officers to recovering eight firearms that were stolen on December 17^th from a rural residence on Grassland Road  an incident  which was reported   on 250News  ( see previous story).

35 year old Dale West of Prince George, is facing the following  charges:

• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5000 (3 counts)
• Break & Enter to Steal Firearm
• Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime
• Theft Over $5000
• Flight from Police
• Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle

Colby Selly Johnson a 32 year old resident of Charlie Lake, BC and a former Prince George resident has been charged with the following offences:

• Theft Over $5000
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5000
• Flight from Police
• Resisting Arrest
• Assaulting a Police Officer (Police Service Dog ‘Azar’)

At the time of his arrest, Johnson was wanted on a Canada Wide Warrant for Being Unlawfully at Large as a result of breaching the conditions of his Parole.

20 year old Brittany Jean Schram, of Prince George has been charged by Provincial Crown Counsel with the following offences:

• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5000 (2 counts)
• Break & Enter to Steal Firearm
• Theft Over $5000
• Flight from Police
• Possession of a Controlled Substance
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime under $5000

West and Johnson  have been remanded in custody at least until their next court appearance scheduled for January 6^th, 2016.  Schram was remanded in custody at least until her next court appearance scheduled for December 24^th, 2015.  “All five of the accused are well known to police and to each other” says Cpl. Craig Douglass, Media Relations Officer for the Prince George RCMP.  “They are being investigated for many other property related crimes in the Prince George and Quesnel areas, including vehicle thefts and break & enters.”