A 36-year-old man faces more than 20 charges after an alleged crime spree in Oliver and Penticton last fall.

Police allege that on Sept. 19, the accused (Jesse William Shawcross) flagged down two vehicles along Eastside Road (south of Penticton) and threatened to use a firearm. He then stole one of the victim’s vehicles. The victims were not physically harmed.

On Sept. 24, Shawcross was believed to have stolen a truck from Oliver. Officers in Penticton observed the stolen truck near the 1000 block of Eckhardt Avenue West.

Officers located the truck in a nearby parking lot and confirmed the driver to be Shawcross. Upon seeing the officers moving in, he attempted to evade them by crashing through the parking lot, damaging several parked cars, and causing the truck to be inoperable. He then fled on foot, with officers giving chase across Eckhardt Avenue. Shawcross resisted violently as several officers arrested him. 

At the time of his arrest, RCMP were able to charge him with 11 offences, but were not in a position at that time to lay additional charges directly linking him to the robberies. But with Shawcross in custody, officers successfully gathered further evidence linking him to those crimes. 

On Dec. 30, an additional 13 charges were laid against Shawcross, which include robbery with a firearm. 

Shawcross has remained in custody following his arrest on Sept. 24. He faces the following charges:

• Theft of five vehicles 

• Flight from police 

• Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle 

• Resisting arrest 

• Assault with a weapon 

• Break and enter 

• Uttering threats 

• Driving while prohibited 

• Possessing a controlled substance 

• Possession of stolen property 

• Failing to comply with a probation order 

• Robbery with a firearm x2 

“Our officers took the safety of our communities into paramount consideration while using all available resources, both investigative and physical, while searching for this accused,” said Cst. James Grandy.

“Right from the beginning, our members worked tirelessly to try and locate and bring this crime spree to a safe and accountable resolve.”

Grandy pointed out that RCMP employed a number of resources including a helicopter, Police Dog Services, plainclothes and uniformed officers from several detachments in the South Okanagan.