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Accused in car chase, bomb threat seeks release on bail

Apr 27, 2017 | 2:00 PM

A Prince Albert man who allegedly organized a bomb threat to avoid arrest after leading city police on a high-speed car chase was in court today seeking his release.

Carlyle Clint Miller, 38, was allegedly involved in a high-speed car chase April 8 and a bomb threat during his subsequent arrest April 10. This morning he made an appearance in Prince Albert Provincial Court seeking his release on bail.

Crown Prosecutor John Morrall said police were searching for a suspect who had fled on foot from a 14th St. W. residence April 8 when an officer in an unmarked patrol car encountered Miller and a female passenger driving down a back alley. Because Miller was a known associate of the fleeing suspect and was known to drive without a valid licence, Morrall said the officer activated his lights and siren which caused Miller to flee.

Morrall said the chase initially left the city on Highway 302 reaching speeds of 160km/h before the fleeing suspect, allegedly Miller, turned into a field and tried to double back. Police attempted to deploy Stop Sticks to puncture the suspect’s tires, Morrall said, but the driver was able to avoid the trap.

The chase continued on back roads for some time, Morrall said, before the suspect turned onto Highway 11 and began driving in the wrong lane of traffic at speeds of 150km/h. The chase re-entered the city, at which point police terminated the pursuit due to the presence of civilian traffic.

“The police were considering public safety, unlike him,” Morrall said.

Two days later, Morrall said, police received a tip from a source that Miller was hiding in a trailer parked behind a home on 15th St. W. Officers heard voices inside, but received no response when they knocked and a check of the plate revealed the trailer was stolen. While police were arranging to have the trailer towed, Morrall said, someone called 9-1-1 and reported a bomb had been planted at Walmart.

The store was evacuated and closed early, Morrall said, but no credible threat was discovered.

The call was quickly traced to a cell phone approximately a block away from the ongoing incident on 15th St., and eventually police pried open the door to the trailer. Two young girls came out, but police spotted a third person hiding under blankets on the bed. Police fired pepper spray into the trailer and Miller emerged straight into the arms of the arresting officers.

Morrall said police searched Miller’s unlocked cell phone incidental to his arrest which contained text and Facebook messages indicating Miller had requested a friend call in the threat to distract police and prevent them from entering the trailer.

Miller’s lawyer Mary McAuley said there were serious issues with the actions taken by police during both incidents. Her client has an alibi during the car chase, McAuley said, and intends to take the charges to trial.

Neither vehicle involved in the chase nor the cell phone searched by police belonged to Miller, McAuley said, and noted there were no search warrants obtained to enter the trailer or examine the cell phone.

“Did they have the right to go into this trailer? Did they have the right to search it?” McAuley asked. “[They went] into this trailer without a warrant and they start pepper spraying people.”

Judge Felicia Daunt said she was not willing to release Miller without at least an electronic monitoring bracelet, and ordered a bail verification report be prepared to determine whether his current address is suitable for monitoring. Miller will be back in court May 10 when Daunt will make her decision regarding his release.

None of the charges against Miller have been tested before the courts.

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews