Two local men have been arrested following a break and enter at a Prince George business early Friday morning with the help of a quick response by a Prince George RCMP general duty officer and a police service dog.
Within about a minute of the detachment receiving a report at 3 a.m. of thieves stealing lumber from business in the 4500 block of Highway 97 North, near Knell Road, the officer who was on patrol in the area, was on the scene.
He saw a dark-coloured pickup truck matching the description made by the caller and activated his emergency lights. But the driver refused to stop, RCMP said, and instead fled south on Highway 97 before the two occupants abandoned the vehicle near the John Hart bridge and fled on foot.
A dog and handler were called in and they tracked the two to separate locations. When the two refused to obey officer commands, the dog was released and one of the men arrested was taken to hospital with minor bite wounds.
Police said the lumber found in the truck's bed was confirmed stolen while tools suspected of being used in the break in were also found and seized.
Both Riley Wilfred Eastman, 27, and Michael Douglas Platt, 34, have been charged with break and enter and theft and wilfully resisting a peace officer. Platt has also been charged with flight from a peace officer and three counts of breach of a recognizance or undertaking.
Eastman was released on $2,000 bail while Platt remained in custody as of Friday.
