A 26-year-old Yorkton man faces multiple charges after being arrested on March 6 following a traffic stop on Highway 9 near Carlyle. The arrest followed a series of dangerous and erratic actions, which led to the discovery of drugs, weapons, and trafficking paraphernalia.
On March 6, at around 4:30 p.m., a Saskatchewan RCMP officer with Weyburn Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) was conducting proactive patrols on Highway 9 near Carlyle.
The officer observed a speeding vehicle and performed a traffic stop. During the stop, the officer noted the driver smelled of cannabis and administered a roadside test, which confirmed the driver had consumed both cannabis and cocaine before driving.
The driver began acting erratically, and the officer requested backup from nearby CTSS officers. The driver then attempted to flee on foot and resisted officers during the arrest by trying to bite and disarm one of them. No officers were seriously injured.
As a result of the investigation, officers located a loaded handgun, a 3D-printed semi-automatic rifle, approximately 133 grams of crack cocaine, 36 grams of psilocybin, 23 grams of illicit cannabis, 50 grams of cannabis shatter, pocket knives, and trafficking paraphernalia.
The driver, 26-year-old Austin Ross of Yorkton, is charged with:
- One count of disarming a police officer (Section 270.1(1), Criminal Code)
- Two counts of assaulting a police officer (Section 270(2), Criminal Code)
- Two counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer (Section 129(a), Criminal Code)
- One count of trafficking cocaine (Section 5(2), Controlled Drugs and Substances Act)
- One count of trafficking (Section 5(2), Controlled Drugs and Substances Act)
- One count of possession for the purpose of trafficking (Cannabis Act)
- One count of operating a conveyance while impaired by drug (Section 320.14(1)(a), Criminal Code)
- Two counts of unsafe storage of a firearm (Section 86(2), Criminal Code)
- Two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose (Section 88(1), Criminal Code)
- One count of carrying a concealed weapon (Section 90(1), Criminal Code)
- One count of possession of a firearm when knowing possession is unauthorized (Section 92(1), Criminal Code)
- Two counts of possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle (Section 94(1), Criminal Code)
- Two counts of unlicensed possession of a restricted or prohibited weapon with ammunition (Section 95(1), Criminal Code)
- One count of possession of a weapon obtained by crime (Section 96(1), Criminal Code)
- Three counts of weapons possession contrary to order (Section 117.10(1), Criminal Code)
Ross was also arrested for breaching a conditional sentence order.
He is scheduled to appear in Estevan Provincial Court on March 10.
The Carlyle RCMP detachment assisted with the investigation.