Twenty-six-year-old Nickolas John Bullock and a 17-year-old girl, both from Port Coquitlam, have been charged over Tuesday’s carjacking outside Creston and the later shootout with RCMP in Cranbrook.
According to an RCMP press release Thursday, Bullock is facing charges of robbery and possession of stolen property. The girl, who cannot be named because she is under 18 years old, is facing one charge of possession of stolen property.
In the news release, RCMP also gave more information about Tuesday’s dramatic events.
At about 8:24 p.m. on Tuesday, October 2, the RCMP emergency 9-1-1 centre received a report of a carjacking that had occurred near Kitchener.
“The victim reported to police that he had stopped to assist a man and woman who were hitchhiking,” reads the police statement. “It is alleged that the man had been pepper sprayed and physically kicked out of his vehicle and left roadside.”
The license plates and description of the stolen vehicle were relayed to Creston, Cranbrook, Kimberley and the Elk Valley.
Cranbrook RCMP then set up a patrol perimeter south of Cranbrook on Highway 3. Shortly after 10 p.m., an RCMP officer spotted the stolen vehicle. He attempted to pull it over just south of the city, but the driver did not stop.
“The suspects… continued into the city where they pulled into a private residential property in the area of 13th Street South and 22nd Avenue South, where the suspects were taken into custody,” reads the statement.
The RCMP has not released any details about the shooting incident that occurred while the RCMP officer was attempting to take the two suspects into custody because it is under investigation by the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO).
The newly formed IIO is called to investigate any police-involved incidents where a member of the public dies or is seriously harmed.
The RCMP have previously said the officer discharged his weapon and the male suspect suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The female suspect and the RCMP officer were not harmed.
If anyone has further information regarding this or any other crime, they can call the Cranbrook RCMP at 250-489-3471 or East Kootenay Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
The pair are set to face the charges in Cranbrook Provincial Court sometime next week. Cpl. Pat Prefontaine said they could appear as early as Tuesday.
