‘Crime is everywhere’: Rural victim fed up after face-to-face encounter with suspect

A Calgary-area woman is fed up as crime continues to run rampant in rural areas.

This week, a police chase ended when a suspect got out of a stolen vehicle and ran into her farmyard northeast of the city.

“I heard my gate rattle… I saw a person running towards the house,” Monica Mickelberry told Global News.

The homeowner said she questioned the man, and was shocked to find he was polite and repeatedly apologized and said: “I’m sorry ma’am” before throwing his hands in the air.

By then a huge police presence had converged onto the Mickelberry property.

Just down the laneway, the RCMP had laid down a spike belt.

“The vehicle exceeded 180 kilometres per hour at times,” RCMP Const. Dan Martin explained. “The vehicle also entered multiple jurisdictions, initially leaving Airdrie going towards Calgary, Rocky View County and even into Beiseker.

“Considering some of the prior crimes and the possibility that that suspect may have a firearm, the decision was made to continue pursuing and attempt to spike belt.”

READ MORE: Alberta announces $10M, 39 RCMP officer positions, to fight rural crime

Police said the man was wanted for a crime spree that started early in the morning of June 23 when two men used bear spray to carjack a victim at an Airdrie McDonald’s.

A day and a half later, police said they spotted one of the suspects in another stolen SUV — and that’s when the pursuit began that ended in Mickelberry’s yard.

“A vehicle is obviously a large weapon, there’s a lot of danger when that vehicle is travelling at high rates of speed, not only to police but especially to the public using the roads,” Martin said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the suspect – a 25-year-old Calgary man – remained in custody, being looked at for a long string of offences.

Mickelberry said she’s shaken by the incident and it’s not the first time she’s been hit by rural crime. She said her husband’s truck was stolen from the farm last November.

“I’m just tired of being a victim,” she said.

“But I’m not going to move. Where am I going to go? The crime is everywhere.”