Kurtis Billy is behind bars after a dynamic chase earlier this week.
The 38-year-old, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant and subject of a Kamloops RCMP public appeal for information last month, managed to evade police several times before his eventual arrest.
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On Tuesday, Billy was spotted by members of the Kamloops RCMP’s Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) while operating a stolen pickup truck in the Sahali area.
Officers attempted unsuccessfully to apprehend him as he exited the truck and fled on a bicycle.
Efforts to locate him continued with assistance from the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team, which led to him being located once again.
This time Billy tried to flee on foot, the RCMP said, before stealing a children’s bicycle to advance his efforts to escape.
“Police maintained containment and continued coordinated search efforts, ultimately locating and safely arresting him without further incident,” an RCMP release explained.
Billy had been spotted in the Kamloops area several times in recent months and the RCMP thanked the public for reporting sightings that contributed to his eventual capture.
He has now been returned to the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, where he remains detained pending a court appearance to address his outstanding charges.
“Despite multiple attempts to evade police, our officers remained persistent and focused on ensuring this individual was safely taken into custody,” said Supt. Jeff Pelley.
“We also want to thank members of the public whose attentiveness and willingness to report sightings played an important role in assisting police.”
No injuries to the public or police were reported during the incident, and the stolen pickup and bicycle have since been recovered.
Mounties are working on forwarding additional charges against Billy.
