`Prolific offender' faces 10 charges in crime spree that led to fatal pursuit

A man of no fixed address described by police as a textbook prolific offender is in custody following last weekend's deadly flight from police.

At a news conference Thursday, RCMP Supt. Leanne MacMillan announced police have laid a string of charges against Peter Richard Ashby, 35, who they claim fled Beaumont Mounties in a U-Haul truck, fatally striking a woman in south Edmonton who ran over a police spike belt intended to stop the suspect vehicle.

Ashby escaped police Saturday night but was eventually tracked to a home in Wainwright, where he surrendered after a brief negotiation with police.

MacMillan described Ashby as “the very definition of a prolific offender.”

“Offenders such as these cause the majority of harm to our communities, repeatedly victimizing the public and utilizing significant police resources in investigating their seemingly never-ending crimes.”

Police said Ashby was wanted on warrants for property crimes in Edmonton, Spruce Grove and Saskatchewan, but do not believe he was on bail or any other form of release at the time of the Saturday incident.

Mounties were investigating a series of parcel thefts in Beaumont around 9 p.m. Saturday when they found a man and a woman parked in a U-Haul truck outside a business plaza on 50 Street. The truck sped off when officers attempted an arrest, allegedly striking a police vehicle.

The truck was soon spotted heading north on Highway 814 — an extension of 50 Street that connects Beaumont and Edmonton. Officers from neighbouring detachments as well as Edmonton city police were called to assist, with RCMP laying a spike belt across 50 Street at 22 Avenue SW.

While the spike belt was in place it was struck by three uninvolved motorists, including Kassandra Gartner, the executive director of the Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank, who died after being hit by the U-Haul.

The U-Haul also struck the spike belt and crashed into another vehicle parked outside a nearby gas station, injuring the occupant.

A Honda Civic was then stolen with a child in the back seat. The child was found two kilometres west of the gas station a few minutes later.

Ashby has since been charged with 10 offences, including dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, flight from police, assaulting two police officers, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, theft of a car, theft of mail under $5,000 and driving while prohibited.

MacMillan said Ashby was wanted on warrants at the time in four jurisdictions.

He is accused of stealing from lockers in Spruce Grove's Tri Leisure Centre on Dec. 19-22, 2023. He was also wanted in Edmonton on charges of theft/forgery of a credit card, driving while prohibited, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, failing to remain at the scene of an accident and driving without insurance.

Police in Saskatchewan also sought to arrest Ashby for allegedly stealing computers from a hotel in Wynyard and breaking into a property in Saskatoon.

RCMP declined to comment on how officers responded to the flight, including the use of the spike belt, citing the ongoing investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.

MacMillan also declined to say what happened to the woman who was in the U-Haul truck when it was first encountered by police.

She said it is not uncommon for prolific property crime suspects to be “multi-jurisdictional,” moving around from area to area as opportunities present.

Ashby remains in custody and is set to appear in the Alberta court of justice on March 7.