A B.C. man was arrested at gunpoint Wednesday after police say he went on a 20-minute crime spree that included stealing a truck, crashing it and then slashing the neck of an elderly woman before stealing her car.
Vancouver police say the illicit string of events began around 5:45 p.m. with reports that a truck had been stolen in East Vancouver and the suspect was driving south of Campbell Street from East Hastings. A short time later, police received a call saying that the stolen truck had crashed into a car at East 7th Avenue and Clark Drive, sending the other driver to hospital with minor injuries.
The significantly damaged truck continued on to the intersection of Woodland Drive and East 5th Avenue where the suspect allegedly dumped the truck and allegedly attacked an 80-year-old woman sitting in a car nearby. Police say the woman's throat was slashed but she managed to run away before the suspect sped away in her vehicle. She suffered only superficial injuries and was treated by paramedics on the scene.
Police say they managed to locate the suspect, now out of the second stolen vehicle and running on foot, around 6:10 p.m., and they arrested him with guns drawn in the 1700-block of East 11th Avenue. The elderly woman's purse was located nearby.
The 40-year-old Maple Ridge man remains in custody and could face several charges. Police say he has a lengthy criminal history.
