Three men face multiple charges after an armed robbery and police chase east of Edmonton.
The incident ended near Elk Island National Park on March 23.
Vegreville RCMP received a robbery report at 5 a.m. at the Petro Canada in town. A suspect entered the store, pointed a firearm at an employee, and demanded money. Instead, the suspects stole the employee’s purse and vehicle keys before fleeing in the victim’s car.
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Officers found the stolen vehicle heading west on Highway 16 toward Edmonton. When police attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle fled. The chase ended when the driver lost control and hit a fence at Elk Island National Park. One suspect was arrested immediately. Two others ran from the scene.
Police deployed multiple resources, including the RCMP emergency response team, police dog services, air services, and officers from Fort Saskatchewan and Sherwood Park detachments. After an extensive search, officers arrested both fleeing suspects.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a black revolver-style pellet gun.
Robert Cardinal, 29, and Adam Coates, 29, both from Edmonton, along with Dakota Masson, 38, of Cold Lake, face several charges, including robbery, intimidation, theft of a motor vehicle, flight from police, and obstruction. A Justice of the Peace remanded all three into custody for future court dates in Vegreville.
“This call for service is an example of the severity of calls that the Alberta RCMP deal with daily,” said Staff Sgt. Colin Folk. “I am extremely proud of my members in Vegreville. Their quick response and composure resulted in three individuals being arrested without injury to my members, the general public and the suspects.”
Folk said the incident highlighted the benefit of RCMP contract policing in Alberta.
“The RCMP has access to many different sections that can deploy very quickly to calls for service like this to assist front-line members in small communities,” he said.
Police used an RCMP helicopter, multiple police dog services teams, a drone, and officers from three detachments to locate and arrest the suspects.
“Having access to all these specific units greatly increases the ability for these situations to end with a positive outcome,” said Folk.
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