UPDATE: RCMP arrest driver who allegedly smashed into dollar store
RCMP have arrested and charged a man accused of driving a stolen truck into a storefront, hitting six parked vehicles and striking a police cruiser before fleeing police in south Red Deer Friday night.
Jesse James Leckner, 27, faces two counts of assault on police, one of resisting police, eight counts of failing to stop or remain at the scene, as well as counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of stolen property under $5,000, mischief over $5,000 and failure to comply with probation.
Mounties say the incident began shortly before 5:30 p.m. on March 16 when police on patrol spotted a suspicious truck with a stolen license plate as it drove in south Red Deer. Due to public safety concerns, RCMP tracked the truck from a distance until it parked at a strip mall. They then moved in to block it.
When Mounties pulled in behind the truck, the driver allegedly reversed rapidly a number of times, crashing into the windows of the Dollar Tree at Bower Plaza, then striking a police cruiser and the vehicles parked around it.