P.E.I. man facing 36 charges, including assault, vehicle theft, dangerous driving

RCMP have made an arrest after a four-daystring of crimes in western Prince Edward Island.

Police were first on the trail of a36-year-old Prince County man on Thursday, when they say he cut off a court-ordered ankle bracelet and stole a 2014 GMC Sierra truck in the Miscouche area and headedwest.

A spike belt laid on the road stopped him, but police said he was able to run into a nearby barn and steal an all-terrain vehicle.

The man was driving in a way that was dangerous both for himself and police, RCMP said.

"It involved high speeds but it also involved erratic behaviour at times," said Sgt. Shaun Coady. "He attempted to evade a spike belt that had been deployed, drove through a ditch then subsequently through a farmer's field. It was that type of behaviour that was considered very erratic.

"And given that unpredictability and the danger to the public, we disengaged with him at that time."

For a time, RCMP believedthe suspect was on foot and less of a danger to the public.

This individual ... has a history of fleeing from police and unfortunately did so in a very extravagant manner.Sgt. Shaun Coady

But on Tuesday, officers responded to a report of an assault in progress in Wellington and realized it was the suspect the RCMP had been seeking on Thursday, the force said in a news release.

The release said he "fled in a car driving dangerously" before beinglocated in Tyne Valley, where he was arrested"whiletrying to take command of another vehicle occupied by a person not known to him."

"Certainly it's not the norm by any stretch," Coady later said. "This individual ... has a history of fleeing from police and unfortunately did so in a very extravagant manner."

The man faces a total of 36 charges, including mischief for cutting off an ankle monitor, motor vehicle theft, breaking and entering, flight from police, assault, dangerous driving, and operating a motor vehicle while prohibited, police said.

And the RCMP wasn'tthe only force involved.

"We do have multiple charges in relation to this person from [Monday] including resist arrest, theft of motor vehicle, and theft of gas," saidJason Blacquiere, deputy chiefof Summerside Police Services.

"There are others from an incident last week."

The man was scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon in provincial court in Summerside.