Wetaskiwin RCMP received a report of a stolen vehicle on Feb.9, 2023, at 12:30 p.m., and had plainclothes officers locate and conduct surveillance on the vehicle. Shortly after this it drove away in a dangerous manner down 49 Street in Wetaskiwin.
Police found the vehicle abandoned a short distance from where they lost sight of it. They contained the area and found the male suspect attempting to steal a Wetaskiwin Transit Handi-van with four people inside of it.
The Handi-van bus driver prevented the suspect from successfully driving away with the bus and the suspect fled then was immediately arrested by police.
Cpl. Troy Savinkoff of the RCMP credits the bus driver’s quick thinking as what prevented not only another vehicle theft, but also the kidnapping of multiple Wetaskiwin residents.
The suspect, Johnathan Alexander Ermineskin, 31, has been charged with:
• Theft of a motor vehicle (x2);
• Driving while disqualified;
• And dangerous driving.
Ermineskin was taken before a Justice of the Peace and remanded in custody with his next court appearance set for Feb. 21, 2023 at Wetaskiwin Provincial Court.