Ankle bracelet helps police track Charlottetown home invasion suspects

An electronic ankle bracelet was key to tracking down five suspects in a home invasion in the city, according to Charlottetown police.

Police say they got a call around 2:30 Wednesday afternoon about a suspicious person in Riverview Estates, a subdivision on the Hillsborough River between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Hillsborough Park.

A witness reported seeing two men wearing black masks, like balaclavas, running from a car, thenreturning shortly with a bag and taking off in the vehicle, which had two other men inside.

"They provided a description of the individuals and the vehicle," saidDeputy Chief Brad MacConnell.

Police spotted the car heading east on Route 2, out of the city.

Car takes off at high speed

When they tried to pull the car over, it took off at high speed. Since there were a lot of vehicles on the road, police discontinued their pursuitfor the safety of the public, MacConnellsaid.

They did have a good look at the car and the driver though, and the description fit that of a man police knew was under a court order to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, said MacConnell. Such bracelets are typically used for those on parole or under house arrest.

"A check with the monitoring service through probation revealed our suspicions were likely correct in that the suspect had been in the area of the reported suspicious activity, but further also travelled the flight path of the vehicle that fled from police," he said.

Working with Queens District RCMP, Charlottetown police tracked the bracelet to the Brackley area, where they found the four men near the vehicle and took them into custody about 90 minutesafter the complaint.

They also took a fifth man into custody.

Notrandom

Police said the woman whose home was broken into inRiverview Estates was home at the time, but was not injured.

They said this was not a random incident and the woman and at least one suspect knew each other.

MacConnell said it's not clear yet what was stolen from her, but they believe the home invasion was drug-related.

Four of the five suspects remain in custody and are to appear in court Thursday for a remand hearing, which will determine whether they will be held in jail or released until their next courtdate.

Police say those four are men ranging in age from 24to 34. They have each been charged with offences ranging from robbery, breach of probation, dangerous driving, flight from police, and failure to comply with a release order.

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