Two men are facing a combined 44 charges following an armed home invasion, a vehicle pursuit across rural Saskatchewan and the seizure of firearms and drugs.
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Battlefords RCMP say the incident began around 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, when officers received a report that individuals with firearms had entered a residence on Red Pheasant Cree Nation. The occupants were not physically injured.
Officers patrolling the area located the suspects driving a stolen vehicle on a rural road. When police attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle refused to pull over and fled.
The pursuit ended when the vehicle was stopped on Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation, where both suspects were arrested without incident. Police Dog Services assisted in the operation.
A search of the vehicle yielded two firearms. Subsequent searches of the suspects uncovered a small amount of suspected cocaine, 34 MDMA pills and several pharmaceutical pills.
Trevor Auger, 22, of Edmonton and Riley Baptiste, 29, of Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation, each face 19 shared charges, including unauthorized possession of a firearm, unsafe storage, possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition and failing to comply with release orders.
Auger faces additional counts specific to the operation of the vehicle and flight from police, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a peace officer, impaired operation, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Both accused appeared in North Battleford Provincial Court on Oct. 16.
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