Farmer charged for chasing, shooting thief
Last Updated: Friday, March 27, 2009 | 5:10 PM MT
CBC News
Police have charged an Alberta farmer who they say shot a suspected thief, then called friends and family to help hunt for the wounded man.
Brian Russell Knight, 38, who lives on a rural property in Tees, northeast of Red Deer, faces seven charges including assault, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and discharging a firearm, RCMP said on Friday.
"Don't take the law into your own hands," said Bashaw RCMP staff Sgt. Darrel Bruno. "Contact the police as soon as possible, because all you're doing to do is get yourself into trouble."
Knight, a farmer, was awoken by his wife early Thursday morning after she heard voices in the farmyard.
"Three males were observed outside of the residence," police said in a statement. "Two of the culprits jumped into [a] truck while the third culprit started a quad [all-terrain vehicle] that was just outside of the house. The truck and quad drove off."
Farmer calls friends, family to help
The farmer raced to his car and chased the man on the quad. Police say that about two kilometres from the house, the farmer rammed his car into the quad, and both vehicles wound up in the ditch.
The farmer pulled out a shotgun and fired two rounds at the fleeing man, who was struck, but kept on running, police allege.
But the chase wasn't over.
The farmer then called friends and relatives to help him with his search, police said.
"The suspect was located on the road and brought back to the scene of the collision."
But police said they then made the mistake of letting the injured man sit alone in the passenger seat of an idling truck.
"The driver stepped outside of the vehicle for a minute, [and] the suspect slid over to the driver's side and proceeded to steal the truck," police said. "The suspect lost control of the truck about 100 metres down the road. The suspect was caught again and detained until the arrival of the police."
More charges may be laid
Bruno said the farmer didn't contact police until after the truck accident.
The wounded man, 30, was flown to hospital by air ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries. He has been released on a promise to appear for allegedly stealing a quad and a truck.
Charges are pending against two other suspects, said the RCMP.
Knight is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Stettler on April 9.
