Alberta RCMP arrest 3 after break-and-enter; find bear spray, drugs in vehicle

(Supplied/RCMP)

EDMONTON -

RCMP arrested three people after responding to reports of a break-and-enter in progress east of Edmonton last week.

According to Mounties, officers responded around 9:50 p.m. on Nov. 14 to a local business on 41 Street in Vermilion. The business owners discovered the intruders on security surveillance equipment, alerting police with descriptions of three people and their vehicles parked outside.

Less than half an hour later, RCMP said they located one vehicle on Range Road 81 and Highway 16. Two people were arrested, and the stolen property was recovered.

A search of their vehicle located bear spray, 10 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and two balaclavas, RCMP say.

Tyler LaFlamme, 36, and Ashley Benio, 33, were charged with several offences, including two counts of break and enter, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,0000, and two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Benio also faces a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

At around 9:50 a.m. the next day, police responded to a report of a man sleeping in the bush of a rural property north of Mannville, Alta. Officers said they realized once they responded that the man matched the description of one of the people involved in the break-and-enter.

Christian Sawyer, 23, faces break and enter and mischief over $5,000 charges.

Vermilion is a town east of Edmonton, approximately 192 kilometres away.