Evansburg, Alta – During the evening of Oct. 15, 2025, Evansburg RCMP received a call from a concerned citizen regarding a suspicious vehicle on a back road in Yellowhead County, Alta. Evansburg members patrolled the area and located the vehicle, who fled from police by ramming into the police vehicle. The officer was able to safely track the vehicle while assistance arrived from other Evansburg RCMP members and various detachments, including Mayerthorpe RCMP, Drayton Valley RCMP, Parkland RCMP, all overseen by the Aberta RCMP Real Time Operation Center (RTOC). The vehicle was disabled, resulting in the suspect feeling on foot, to be tracked down by the Alberta RCMP Police Dog Services (PDS).

As a result of the investigation, Jesse Haarstad (32), of no fixed address, was arrested. Haarstad is not known to be from the area but has extensive criminal history in the Central Alberta area. Two arrest warrants, one out of Lacombe, Alta., and one out of Hinton, Alta., in relation to motor vehicle operation and possession of property obtained by crime, were executed as well.

For the incident of Oct. 15, 2025, Haardstad was charged with:

• Flight from police officer;

• Assault with a weapon on police officer;

• Dangerous operation of motor vehicle;

• Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000;

• Possess break in instruments;

• Mischief under 5,000; and

• Fail to comply with probation.

HAARDSTAD was brought before a Justice of the Peace and was remanded into custody. He appeared before the Alberta Court of Justice in St. Albert on Oct. 20, 2025 and was once again remanded, to appear before the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer on Oct. 27, 2025.

“I would like to thank the members of the public who called in their concerns” said Sgt. Sutherland, Detachment Commander of the Evansburg RCMP. “Thanks to these calls, we were able to locate this prolific offender and arrest him, potentially preventing further crimes from taking place. We encourage the public to keep partnering with us in keeping our community safe by calling in suspicious activity”.