Penticton RCMP nab pickup thief despite his determination to get away

PENTICTON – Police answering a call of a stolen pickup truck ended up in a slow speed police chase earlier this week.

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk says a resident of Penticton reported her 2006 F350 pickup had been stolen form the Walmart parking lot around 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, July 25.

Around 7 p.m., an employee at the Okanagan Correctional Centre told police an unknown man dropped off something for an inmate using the stolen truck.

Later that evening, members of the Targeted Enforcement Unit saw the stolen truck travelling north on Highway 97 near Vaseux Lake and set a spike belt up on the highway near the intersection of Weyerhaeuser Road, just south of Okanagan Falls, Moskaluk says.

Three tires burst on the truck, but the driver did not stop, driving for another 2.6 kilometres through residential streets, coming within a few feet of hitting a fire hydrant and a commercial building.

Moskaluk says the vehicle ran two stop signs, almost struck pedestrians, and forced a vehicle on the highway to take evasive action to avoid hitting it.

The driver finally stopped 1.5 kilometres north of Okanagan Falls, fleeing into brush on the edge of the highway. He was spotted 10 minutes later on the east side of the highway.

Police were able to eventually arrest the suspect as he attempted to swim Skaha Lake.

A search of suspect and the stolen truck revealed a small amount of methamphetamine, an open bottle of alcohol, multiple sets of pliers and documents in his name.

Gregory Montague pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000, failing to stop for police and dangerous driving in court the next day and was sentenced to 12 months in jail and a three year driving probation.

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