Lethbridge-area man faces multiple charges after police car rammed with stolen vehicle
A man from the Lethbridge area is facing a slew of charges after an RCMP vehicle was rammed by a stolen truck early Monday morning, which led to a long police chase.
Coaldale RCMP responded to a property along Highway 512 in Lethbridge County around 5:30 a.m. after reports a man was passed out in the driver's seat of a white Dodge Ram 1500, police said in a Monday release.
A truck with a matching description had been reported stolen from Picture Butte and police received several complaints tying it to possible fuel theft.
Police say an officer positioned his vehicle in front of the truck and when the driver woke up he drove the Dodge into the police vehicle, pushing it out of the way and left the scene. The stolen truck was located hours later in a rural area.
'Overwhelming public tips'
Images of the suspect were released and "thanks to overwhelming public tips from the earlier media release and information sharing from members of the Lethbridge Police Service, the identity of the suspect was learned," RCMP said later Monday evening.
Another vehicle, a black 1993 Chevrolet truck, was stolen a short distance from where the abandoned Dodge was found. The Chevrolet was spotted in the Tempest area east of Coaldale. Officers from three RCMP detachments responded as well as the Lethbridge police dog unit, police said.
Police followed the suspect, who eventually left the Chevrolet and fled on foot, taking officers on a chase that ended in a residential garage on the west side of Stafford Lake in Brooks.
Remote control used by police
Officers used a garage remote control and found the man hiding in a storage area above the garage door, police said.
Darrin Bressellar, 32, of the Lethbridge area, faces multiple criminal code and provincial offences including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from police and resisting arrest.
Bressellar was charged Tuesday and will face a judicial interim release hearing at Lethbridge Provincial Court on Thursday.
"Coaldale RCMP would like again to thank the public for the tips generated from the media reports on this matter," police said Wednesday.
