Car theft suspect involved in police shooting goes missing
A man charged in a stolen vehicle rampage in Calgary that culminated in an officer-involved shooting has vanished shortly after being granted probation, say High River Mounties.
Cole Stuart McLean, 30, was released from prison Nov. 30 under a strict probation order with numerous conditions as he awaits trial on a dozen charges linked to a stolen vehicle rampage in the southeast community of Auburn Bay in July.
Before that incident, which saw a suspect wounded after being shot by a Calgary police officer, McLean had been facing numerous other charges linked to rural crime sprees in southern Alberta.
He’s now wanted on two counts of failing to comply with a probation order, and RCMP said his whereabouts is unknown.
McLean was arrested by Calgary police on July 12 along with Darby Jackson Bennett, 22, and Brady Andrew Gillingham, 33, after three suspects fled a suburban home.
Gillingham was shot during an ensuing confrontation with pursuing officers, leaving him in serious condition.
McLean appeared with Bennett via closed circuit TV in a Calgary courtroom days after the incident. A judge ruled they would remain in custody pending a bail hearing.
Long before the Auburn Bay showdown with Calgary police, McLean was known to Mounties.
A week before his arrest in Calgary, Mounties had asked for the public’s help to find McLean, who had been released a month before after being arrested on numerous charges including dangerous driving, possession of stolen property, identity theft, uttering threats and careless use of a firearm. He was wanted on four counts of breach of probation, and RCMP warned he should be treated with “extreme caution.”
In January 2017, McLean was arrested by the Cochrane RCMP after warrants were issued against him for a slew of alleged offences in Vulcan, Okotoks and Turner Valley
Anyone with information about McLean’s whereabouts is asked to call the High River RCMP detachment at 403-652-2357, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800222-8477.