Police track down e-Vader
A massive four-day search for a wanted man came to a conclusion Saturday night with police apprehending Richard Vader.
The search for the 33-yearold Vader began Wednesday in Quinte West with police turning out in force-including members of the Repeat Offenders Parole Enforcement Squad (R.O.P.E), a canine unit and air support.
Vader was wanted for several domestic-related charges stemming from an incident in the Quinte West area as well as several other charges incurred recently, police say.
Vader had previously been convicted of numerous weapons and ammunition offences stemming from a 2010 incident.
On Thursday, OPP officers on patrol received a report of a pickup truck, which had been stolen from the Prince Edward County area two days before, travelling on Front Street North in Campbellford.
Officers located the vehicle on Grand Road and confirmed the driver was Vader.
Police say when they attempted to stop the vehicle in a parking lot on Doxsee Avenue South, the driver accelerated over a curb and fled behind a business on Second Street, where he abandoned the truck and continued on foot towards Ferris Provincial Park -- evading two canine units, the Emergency Response Team, the Tactical Rescue Unit and an OPP helicopter.
At 1:49 a.m on Friday, StirlingRawdon Police Service received a report of a stolen pickup truck from a residence on Hoards Road. A yet-to-be reported stolen ATV was recovered at the scene and determined to have been stolen from a rural property south of Ferris Provincial Park. Investigators believe that Vader was responsible for both of those thefts.
At 9 p.m. on Friday, a Belleville police officer on patrol observed the stolen pickup truck travelling on Dundas Street West. When the cruiser turned around, the driver abandoned the truck on Avonlough Road and fled on foot. The area was checked but the driver was not found.
On Saturday night, the OPP announced that Vader had been apprehended in the Wooler/ Frankford area north of Trenton.
He made a court appearance Monday.