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Local man sentenced for fleeing police in stolen pickups along Highway 16 West

James Alan Webb sentenced to a further 292 days in jail and prohibited from driving for four years
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A Prince George man has been sentenced to a further 292 days in jail for a wild drive along Highway 16 West in a series of stolen pickup trucks as well as a snowmobile.

James Alan Webb, 40, was also prohibited from driving for four years and must serve one year probation at the end of his time in custody for the March 9-10, 2020 incident that, according to police, stretched from Terrace to Burns Lake.

In all, Webb was sentenced on seven counts of theft of a motor vehicle and one count each of dangerous driving, fleeing police, driving while impaired and driving while disqualified under the Criminal Code.

The terms were issued Tuesday in Burns Lake Provincial Court.

According to a statement RCMP issued at the time, the incident began on March 9 at 5:05 p.m. when Smithers RCMP received a report that a man on a bicycle had stolen a black Ford F350 pickup truck and was seen speeding away towards Telkwa. The suspect had left behind a white Ford F250 truck, which had been reported stolen out of Terrace.

Around 5:30 p.m. on the same day, the suspect abandoned the stolen F350 in the Hungry Hill area and allegedly stole a Ford F150 pickup truck. The suspect was seen driving towards Houston in the truck, which police were told may contain firearms and other weapons.

At 8:44 p.m. a property owner in the 5200-block of Highway 16 chased the suspect away from their home, as the suspect was allegedly trying to steal items from there. The suspect dumped the F150 and stole a Chevy 3500 pickup truck.

The stolen Chevy was later involved in a crash in Houston.

Less than an hour later, Houston RCMP received a report of another vehicle theft. A two-tone grey and blue GMC 2500 pickup truck was taken from the 4800 block of Summit Lake Road.

At this point, officers from the Burns Lake and Fraser Lake RCMP detachments were called in to assist the detachments already involved in the case, the press release said.

At 11:27 p.m., a Burns Lake RCMP member spotted the stolen GMC truck in the parking lot of Lakes District Hospital, and attempted to stop it. Police attempted to stop the suspect, but he failed to stop and fled the area.

Then at 12:15 a.m. on March 10, an RCMP officer found the stolen GMC truck crashed on Highway 16 west of Hawse Loop Road.

Police patrolled the area and heard someone yelling that their snowmobile was being stolen. As officers made their way to the home, the suspect drove the stolen sled directly at the police, narrowly missing two police cars before fleeing down trails were police couldn't follow,

About 10 minutes later, police received a report that someone had stolen a Dodge truck equipped with a snowplow from Bartlett Road in Burns Lake, and was seen driving east on Highway 16. Police found the stolen snowmobile at the scene of the plow theft.

Officers found the suspect driving the plow truck on Highway 16 near Cougar Road. The vehicle was stopped in the travel portion of the highway, and police positioned their cruisers to prevent the suspect from fleeing.

But the suspect rammed one police vehicle, then reversed and rammed another cruiser.

Police arrested the suspect at gunpoint, because of the possibility of firearms being in the stolen plow truck.

During the arrest, officers seized a quantity of drugs believe to be methamphetamine.

The highway was closed to traffic for a time to allow officers to conduct the investigation.

Webb taken to hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash, and a police officer was also treated for injuries sustained during the altercation.

Court records indicate Webb remained in custody for 22 days following his arrest and, by February 25, was back in custody on a detention order.

In 2017, Webb was sentenced to a further 393 days in jail for a similar spree that started in Dawson Creek and ended in Prince George.