Armed robbery on Thunderchild First Nation leads to six arrests after RCMP search for suspects

An armed robbery on Thunderchild First Nation has led to six arrests.

A robbery with a firearm at a home was reported on the First Nation on May 9 around 3:15 p.m. to Turtleford RCMP.

Officers responded and “determined that three suspects in a car and a truck entered the property, assaulted a resident and stole an ATV. The victim reported minor injuries to police,” according to a news release from RCMP.

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Officers began patrolling the area and arrested a 25-year-old man from Thunderchild.

The Lloydminster crime reduction team – which is part of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Saskatchewan enforcement response teams – was called to help police find the remaining suspects.

Lloydminster and Turtleford officers found a vehicle with a matching description to the suspect car near the First Nation community around 5:50 p.m. and activated lights and sirens on their vehicles.

Police said the driver then fled from police and officers followed the car.

The car was then seen leaving the road and rolling about 30 kilometres north of North Battleford, on Highway 794 near the Highway 4 intersection.

“Officers arrested the driver and three occupants – one male and three females – without incident,” police stated.

As a precaution, one person from the vehicle was taken to hospital and later released into the custody of the RCMP.

When officers searched the vehicle, multiple knives were found and seized, as well as a sword, about 4.2 grams of cocaine and 1.2 grams of methamphetamine. When searching the driver, police reported finding keys to a vehicle that had been reported stolen.

“Investigation determined the four individuals were not involved in the initial armed robbery,” RCMP said.

A 22-year-old man from Lloydminster, Sask. is facing multiple charges, including two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, flight from police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000.

Three women also from Lloydminster, ages 37, 31 and 27, are each facing a charge of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The four people arrested from the vehicle are scheduled to appear in court on June 2 in St. Walburg.

Further investigation by police led to the arrest of a 25-year-old from  Lloydminster, Alta., who faces one charge of robbery with a firearm. He is scheduled to appear in Lloydminster Provincial Court, also on June 2.

As of May 12, a 29-year-old man was arrested on Thunderchild First Nation and appeared in court in Onion Lake on May 13.

A final suspect was arrested by the Saskatchewan RCMP’s warrant enforcement and suppression team on May 22 in Lloydminster. The 22-year-old man appeared in Lloydminster Provincial Court on May 25, charged with one count of robbery with a firearm, as well as using an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence and assault with a weapon.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated since RCMP have caught two suspects who were originally wanted in this investigation.