Prince George RCMP apprehended two men known to the police and courts and seized two loaded firearms in a high-profile takedown in the parking lot of a local big box store.
Noticing a rental vehicle reported stolen on Thursday afternoon, the detachment's street crew unit followed it to the Walmart at Westgate Shopping Centre where they surrounded the vehicle.
Thomas Joshua Toman, 22, had to be Tasered while Justus Leigh Colin Teasdale, 26, cooperated upon being arrested.
RCMP said officers subsequently found a loaded shotgun underneath the front passenger seat and a loaded rifle on the floor of the driver’s seat.
“Thomas Toman and Justus Teasdale are prolific offenders and well-known to Prince George RCMP,” said Cst. Jennifer Cooper.
Toman, in particular, has had a history of scrapes with the law.
At one point he had faced a charge of attempted murder from a December 2018 home invasion although the charge was later dropped.
He was last in the news when he was arrested in September during a crackdown on a wave of drug-related crime in the city. Charges related to the arrest at a 400-block Lyon Street home were subsequently stayed.
Teasdale's record centres on offences committed in Fort St. John.
Eight mostly gun-related charges have been approved against Toman and six against Teasdale and both remain in custody on detention orders.
