In the age of Twitter and texting, it was CB radio that stopped what a Crown lawyer said was two men fleeing in a stolen truck.
On Thursday, March 6, a provincial court judge released Derek Ledgard after a bail hearing and held Massimo Decicco over the weekend pending more information.
Charges against the two men include theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a weapon and possession of break-in instruments.
Prosecutor Katie Bouchard said a driver filling up his F-250 pickup at the Highway 5N Husky station on Feb. 20 left the vehicle running when he went inside.
Two men got in the pickup and drove away, heading northbound on the highway.
The truck’s owner first called emergency 911, then found a CB radio and alerted his trucking friends, who were on the road.
Several replied and, when the driver of the stolen F-250 turned onto Palmer-Forsyth Road at Heffley Creek, one semi-trailer driver heading the other way blocked the road.
RCMP found the pickup truck abandoned on a cattle guard, Bouchard said.
A police dog and helicopter were called in.
Police eventually traced two men to the Tolko Industries Ltd. log yard.
Bouchard said Mounties used one of the pair’s unique footprint on his Nike Shox runners — found beside the abandoned truck — to identify him.
Two men fled after first telling police they were just getting off shift.
They bolted when one Mountie said to the other, “Nike Shox?”
As they fled, items that belonged to the F-250’s driver allegedly fell out of a backpack.
Calling it a “crime spree,” Bouchard said police found break-in tools, bear spray and a knife in a backpack.
Ledgard, 20, was released on a recognizance, including that he not contact Decicco or possess break-in tools or a knife outside his home.
Decicco, 30, will be held until March 10 so more information can be obtained on his potential release.
Neither man has links with Kamloops other than visiting here, Bouchard said.
A trial date has not been set.
