Between March 23 and 25, Blackfalds RCMP received six complaints of vehicles stolen from Blackfalds and the surrounding rural area. The first of the stolen vehicles was taken from a residence within Blackfalds on March 23. Subsequently, trucks, cars and a quad were then stolen from rural residences in the early morning hours of March 25.
RCMP investigation has led them to believe that a Chevrolet Cavalier car was stolen from one rural residence and then left at another rural residence nearby where a Ford F150 truck was stolen. That truck was then left at a third resident where a Honda Trax quad was stolen. The Honda 4 Trax was then left at another rural residence where a Chevrolet half-ton truck was stolen.
That truck and a Ford 350 truck (the first vehicle stolen from within Blackfalds) were abandoned on RR 261 just north of Township Road 402. A short walking distance away from where the vehicles were found, two more abandoned vehicles (a Pontiac Grand Am and a Ford three-quarter ton) were discovered that has also been stolen from closed buildings.
As a result of the investigation, Jesse Bissonette, formerly of Blackfalds has been charged with eight counts of possession of stolen property, one count of dangerous driving and one count of flight from police. The dangerous driving and flight from polices charges stem from an incident on March 25 where police allege Bissonette was operating the stolen Pontiac Grand Am on the QE II Hwy. south of Red Deer and passed an RCMP vehicle at a high speed. When the RCMP vehicle switched on its emergency lights, the Grand Am fled and eventually ended up on a dead end road south east of Red Deer.
A second RCMP vehicle assisting in stopping the Grand Am was struck intentionally by the Grand Am when it intentionally swerved in an attempt to avoid police apprehension, RCMP allege.