On April 30, three people were arrested by Cochrane RCMP on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation and charged with over 50 counts of gun-related criminal charges.
Police said they received multiple reports of a male pointing a long gun at another male while driving a stolen truck on Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Officers with Cochrane RCMP, an RCMP helicopter, and RCMP Police Dog Services, located the suspected stolen vehicle and deployed a tire deflation device across the road after the suspects tried to drive directly at police.
Officers quickly contained the vehicle and arrested two occupants in the vehicle, before locating and arresting the driver, who had fled on foot into the nearby woods. RCMP said s search of the vehicle yielded a rifle, bear spray, brass knuckles, and illicit drugs.
Andrew Pooreagle, 38, a resident of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, was charged with 36 offences, including: Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, Careless use of a firearm, Possession of a firearm for dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, possession of property obtained by crime, seven breach of release orders, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawfully drive a motor vehicle uninsured.
Jackson Wesley, 35, also of Stoney Nakoda First Nation, was charged with 19 offences: possession of property obtained by crime, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a firearm for dangerous purpose, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, and 11 Breach of release orders.
The third occupant of the vehicle, a youth who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was also arrested and held for a judicial interim release hearing. The unnamed youth was charged with a total of 11 offences, including possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon and obstruction, among others. The youth was released on conditions and will appear in the Alberta Court of Justice in Cochrane later in May.
Pooreagle and Wesley were both held for a judicial interim release hearing and were remanded into custody. Both men are set to appear before the Alberta Court of Justice in Cochrane on May 5.
