A man sleeping in his vehicle was violently carjacked last week, which Alberta RCMP said led to a police pursuit through the Bonnyville and Cold Lake regions before arrests were made.
Shortly after midnight on Thursday, Jan. 22, RCMP received a call about an armed robbery on Highway 36 in Two Hills, about 120 kilometres east of Edmonton.
A man was sleeping in his car when two people allegedly approached it.
One of the suspects had a shotgun, which police said he fired at the back passenger window to force the victim out and steal the vehicle.
RCMP Supt. Anthony Hanson said although armed carjackings are not unheard of in Alberta, they are rare and the victim was shaken by the alleged attack.
Officers from Two Hills RCMP responded and police said they were able to gather enough information on the vehicle to send out an alert to neighbouring detachments.
About two hours later, at 2:45 a.m., officers with the RCMP detachment in Bonnyville, northeast of Two Hills, spotted the allegedly stolen car.
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They called in backup and the vehicle was tracked as the driver sped further north.
The vehicle made its way to Cold Lake, nearly 180 kilometres from where the carjacking took place. When RCMP attempted to pull the vehicle over, police say the driver sped away in the vehicle, and a pursuit ensued.
The Alberta RCMP Real-Time Operation Center (RTOC), with the help of drones and police dogs, tracked the vehicle as it drove into the boonies.
Police said the driver eventually drove into lease sites and abandoned the vehicle, running away on foot into the woods. The passenger remained and was arrested.
A police dog team went after the driver and caught him. Police said the suspect was treated for minor dog bite injuries suffered during the takedown. A modified shotgun was found and seized.
A modified shotgun seized by RCMP following a carjacking and police pursuit from Two Hills to Cold Lake, Alta., on Jan. 22, 2026.
Alberta RCMP
John Sauve, 20, who is suspected of driving the vehicle and wielding the shotgun, and Linda-Joyce Wood, 20, both of Saddle Lake First Nation, are now facing a slew of charges:
Sauve was charged with 13 offences, including:
- Robbery with firearm
- Discharging firearm
- Uttering threats
- Commission of an offense wearing a mask
- Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
- Possession of stolen property over $5,000
- Failure to comply with court order
Wood was charged with nine offences, including:
- Robbery with firearm
- Discharging firearm
- Uttering threats
- Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
- Commission of an offense wearing a mask
- Possession of stolen property over $5,000
Sauve and Wood appeared before a justice of the peace and remain in police custody.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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