The young lad who had three police departments chasing him down Highway 97 was in court Thursday with the Crown and his defense lawyer trying to get him out of jail.

21 year old Austin Tallman of Kamloops – sells cars and his friends at the dealership he works at gave him the use of a Ford Explorer last week and be decided to drive to Osoyoos to see a girl.

Tallman has outstanding warrants from an incident in The Pas, Manitoba so when RCMP officers started chasing him near Summerland he put the pedal to the metal and off he went being chased by Penticton and Oliver police before running out of gas behind the 7-11 in Oliver.

He was arrested in the alley after being spotted filling up a gerry-can.

Police Report: Thursday evening, August 22, at 11:10 pm a uniformed member of the Summerland RCMP Detachment attempted to stop a red Ford SUV which was traveling South on Highway 97 toward Penticton. The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle was driving at an excessive rate of speed and in consideration of the safety of both the police officer and the travelling public the vehicle was not pursued. The Summerland RCMP alerted the Penticton Detachment officers to the south, making them aware of the situation.

The Crown wanted a conditional sentence for this man who has served 7 days in the Kamloops Jail. The Judge was not convinced the man charged is eligible for such a sentence and gave the crown lawyer some time to consult with Manitoba where Tallman is before the courts on other charges involving the RCMP.

Police Report:

It was a keen sense of observation and good instinct that paid off, when plainclothes Penticton officers observed a nervous male filling up a gas can at the Oliver 7-11 gas station. Acting on the odds of probability and police intuition, investigators covertly observed and followed the male who walked away from the pumps and led them back to the suspect vehicle. Apparently a sustained speed of 140+ had quickly emptied the fuel tank of the suspect’s Red 2001 Ford Explorer.

said Sgt Ken Harrington Oliver RCMP Area Commander.

The crown said the Ford Explorer was going 140 kilometers per hour at one point and smashed into a police cruiser north of Oliver during the high speed chase. The crown said Tallman was emotional and remorseful and found to have alcohol on his breath and a bottle of liquor in the truck.

Later in the day the Judge gave Tallman a sentence of 6 (173 days) months conditional, time served (a week),  a 1 year prohibition from driving  and other conditions he is to meet – keep the peace  and be of good behavior. If he breaks his conditions he must serve his sentence.