RNC make high-risk arrest of wanted man

The RNC arrested a wanted man ending an hours long crime spree that spanned policing jurisdictions.

John Anderson who was unlawfully at large, was wanted on domestic violence charges and was initially spotted by RNC shortly after 10:30 a.m. in the downtown area of St. John’s.

Upon sighting the police vehicle, the driver fled in what was determined to be a stolen vehicle. In the interest of public safety, officers did not pursue.

Information on the suspect, and the vehicle he was driving, was shared with the RCMP. Officers advised they had located the vehicle in Carbonear where it had again fled police.

Throughout the course of the afternoon, the RNC had received information that the vehicle was spotted in Conception Bay South, Paradise, and St. John’s, continuously being driven recklessly.

Once back on the Trans-Canada Highway, officers of both police agencies worked to narrow his direction and area of travel. The RNC deployed a spike belt west bound in the area of Donovan’s Industrial Park. When the suspect driver attempted to avoid the spike belt by veering across the highway into oncoming traffic, an RNC officer in an unmarked vehicle collided with the suspect vehicle in the median of the highway to avoid harm to the public.

Anderson, who was not injured, was arrested on scene without further incident. The 31-year-old will appear in court today on charges of:

Kidnapping

Forcible confinement

Assault

Assault by choking

Assault causing bodily harm

Mischief by property damage

Uttering threats

Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose

Two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle

Two counts of flight from police

Possession of property obtained by crime

Two counts break and enter

Four counts of theft of a motor vehicle

Unlawfully at large

An officer was sent to hospital as a precaution but has since been released.