A crime spree ended July 27 after a man and a woman suspected of involvement in a number of crimes, which crossed jurisdictional lines, were apprehended in Calgary.
A crime spree ended July 27 after a man and a woman suspected of involvement in a number of crimes, which crossed jurisdictional lines, were apprehended in Calgary.
According to Calgary Police Services (CPS) Acting Detective Martin Taylor, William Riley Gossen, 20, of Calgary and Michaila Mitchell, 18, also of Calgary were arrested at approximately 6 p.m. in the 2000 block of 11 Avenue S.W. Taylor said the two were taken into custody without incident.
“They were pursued by the RCMP for a brief period of time on Stoney Trail into Calgary,” Alberta RCMP Media Spokesperson Corporal Laurel Scott said. “Then the Calgary city police took up the monitoring of this vehicle.”
The two have been charged with numerous offenses including possession of a firearm, pointing a firearm, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and flight from police.
Gossen also faces charges of possession of a firearm contrary to an order.
Both Gossen and Mitchell remain in custody at the Airdrie RCMP detachment and their bail hearing is set for Aug. 4
The incident began July 25 in the Carstairs area when a homeowner returned to his residence and found an unknown red Hummer parked in his driveway and two individuals inside the home, according to Scott.
“It starts in Cochrane and involves a stolen vehicle or possibly a couple of stolen vehicles,” Scott said.
“The Hummer is then involved in incidents in (the) Didsbury (RCMP coverage area). They break into a home in (the) Didsbury (area). The homeowner sees the Hummer and confronts a man and a lady in his home.”
Scott said the incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m. The suspects produced what the homeowner described as a sawed-off shotgun and the male suspect uttered threats. They then stole items from the residence and fled in the Hummer.
A short while later, a white Ford F250 pickup truck was stolen - allegedly by the same suspects - also in the Didsbury RCMP coverage area.
“They transferred items from the Hummer to the stolen Ford F250 and the Hummer was abandoned in Didsbury area,” Scott said.
The Hummer was abandoned near Township Road 294 and Highway 2A.
On July 26, the suspects were involved in a home invasion in Airdrie at approximately 6:20 a.m.
“They did not confront the homeowner. I think the homeowner went and hid somewhere,” Scott said.
“But they were in the home while the homeowner was home so we consider that a home invasion.”
The suspects stole a red 2005 Acura EL from the residence and fled the scene.
RCMP in Cochrane then responded at approximately 7:30 a.m. July 27 to a call from a residence on Gleneagles Estates Lane regarding an armed robbery.
According to a release issued by Cochrane RCMP, the homeowner entered his garage to find a man inside. The man informed the homeowner he had a gun and threatened to use it.
The suspects stole a number of items, including a bear hunting bow, a machete and a rifle-style pellet gun.
After fleeing Cochrane, the suspects headed back to the Airdrie area where they were allegedly involved in a car-jacking July 27, according to Scott.
At 10:30 a.m. July 27, RCMP informed CPS the vehicle was travelling on Stoney Trail and entering the CPS' jurisdictional area. According to Scott, at this time monitoring of the vehicle was turned over to CPS.
According to Taylor, the vehicle travelled through Calgary at a high rate of speed. The HAWCS helicopter was utilized to track the vehicle, with the vehicle eventually ending up in the downtown core.
Approximately seven hours after entering the Calgary, the truck was tracked to an apartment building where the suspects were taken into custody.
Scott said none of the homeowners sustained any injuries during their interactions with the suspects.
