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Vol. 10, No. 46, Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Attempted Robbery in Lamont PHOTO BY MICHELLE PINON
Lt. Andrew McDonald holds the water bag for one of the young contestants in the Junior Firefighting challenge during the Lamont Fire Departmentʼs Heroes In The Sky fundraiser on Saturday, September 12th.
High risk driver ditches police; but eventually gets nabbed Vegreville RCMP and Community Peace officers were kept busy over the past few days by a motorist who decided that the requirement to stop for police did not apply to him. On Sunday September 6, 2015 a 37 year old man from Mundare, Alberta and his 1990 Blue Isuzu pickup truck were seen driving in the town of Mundare, Alberta. The truck was very familiar to police as a salvage vehicle which could not be registered or insured, and was not safe to be on the road. When RCMP attempted to pull the truck over he refused to stop. Due to the potential risk to the public RCMP chose to not pursue the truck within the town. Later that afternoon the truck again failed to stop for another RCMP officer who was attempting to pull it over for the same reasons. Two days later the truck again failed to stop for a Community Peace Officer. The truck was then seen again in the evening of September 8, 2015 near Mundare. This time police followed the truck to an isolated rural area where RCMP set up a roadblock on a gravel road. Upon the truck approaching the roadblock he appeared to slow down as if to stop. Instead, he decided to drive through the ditch, then a field and went around the roadblock. RCMP followed
and attempted to stop the truck for another 3 miles with it still refusing to stop. When the truck approached the next roadblock he turned around in the middle of the road and came back towards the following officers. When officers tried to block his escape the suspect vehicle collided with the front of an RCMP car while driving through the ditch again and evaded capture. Damage was minor and nobody was injured. The next morning on September 9 RCMP located the driver of the truck near his residence in Mundare. This time he fled on foot and RCMP gave chase. The male broke into a nearby home where a female resident was home alone at the time. Officers located the suspect in the garage of the house where he then broke the door and ran from police again. RCMP caught up to the suspect a short distance away where he turned and came towards officers in a threatening manner. Pepper spray was deployed and the suspect was taken into custody after resisting arrest. 37 year old Istvan (Steven) Bela BARTOK of Mundare, Alberta is currently in police custody. BARTOK is facing 27 charges pertaining to these matters and is very familiar to RCMP and Peace Officers in the area.
Michelle Pinon Editor
RCMP investigators were combing the streets and alleys in the downtown area of Lamont Thursday afternoon looking for clues and asking for information regarding an attempted robbery at the Lamont Hotel. According to RCMP at approximately 12:19 a.m., the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP responded to a 911 call of an attempted robbery at the Lamont Hotel located at 4815 51 Street, Lamont, AB. The male was last seen running from the location on Main Street, towards Highway 15. The suspect is described as male, chubby, approximately 5’8” tall, with sandy blond hair, wearing a green or grey sweater, jeans, black bandana over his face and carrying a red bag. The investigation is ongoing, however the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP is seeking the assistance of the public
to aid in identifying the suspect. The Fort Saskatchewan RCMP note that tips received from the general public have been very helpful in their ongoing investigations. As such, the RCMP would like to encourage anyone who may have any information about this incident or anyone who may have seen anything out of the ordinary in the area, to contact Cst. RUDDICK of the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP at 780-992-6100. Also, the RCMP would like to encourage the general public to continue to report any activity that they deem to be suspicious or of concern. To remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 (TIPS) or at www.crimestoppers.ca. If the information provided at Crime Stoppers is used to assist in an arrest or recovery of property, you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.