Three London men are facing charges after police recognized a wanted man driving a vehicle that had previously been reported stolen.
The vehicle was reported stolen to the London Police Service (LPS) on Friday. Later that day, plain-clothed officers operating an unmarked police vehicle observed the suspect vehicle, they also recognized a man wanted on outstanding warrants in the driver seat.
Police said two other men were seen getting into the vehicle at different locations.
At approximately 11:25 a.m., officers tried to stop the suspect vehicle from moving in a drive-thru on Dundas Street.
"The driver struck the unmarked police vehicle multiple times with the front of the stolen vehicle and proceeded to drive over a curb and onto Dundas Street before fleeing eastbound with a damaged tire," police said.
Multiple 9-1-1 calls were made to report the vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, disobeying traffic lights and laws of the road, with a driver-side tire missing.
When police found the stolen vehicle, it was empty and located about 100 meters off the roadway on Dakota Place. Three suspects fled from the vehicle on foot.
Members of the Uniformed Division, with the assistance of members of the Emergency Response Unit and LPS Canine Unit, began tracking the suspects who had fled on foot.
All three suspects were arrested a short distance away.
Police seized over $4,000 worth of suspected drugs on one of the men. The drugs included black tar heroin, crystal meth, pink fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and cannabis oil.
A search of the recovered vehicle also yielded about 30 grams of suspected carfentanyl.
The three suspects, aged 35, 37, and 48, have been jointly charged with:
possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
possession of a schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking
resisting arrest
The driver of the vehicle has been additionally charged with:
dangerous operation of a conveyance
operation while prohibited
failing to stop for police/pursuit
failing to comply with an undertaking
failing to stop at the scene of an accident
Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact London police at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
