Photo: Google Maps

Two men are in custody after police brought the stolen truck they were driving to an abrupt stop with a spike belt in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Just before 1 a.m., police noticed a newer, white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck slowly driving around the area of Richter Street and Cadder Avenue. The officers learned the truck had been reported stolen from a home on Coronation Avenue Wednesday morning.

The officers tailed the stolen truck as it moved towards East Kelowna, as backup officers were called.

“Our uniformed officers were able to set up in a strategic location to safely disable the stolen vehicle with a tire-deflation device,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey of the Kelowna RCMP.

“With all four tires on the vehicle punctured, the vehicle came to a stop in the 3800 block of East Kelowna Road.”

The two men inside were not ready to give up quite yet though, with each running from the truck in different directions. Police were able to catch and arrest them.

Dennis Wagner, 19, and Aaron Giesbrecht, 31, appeared in Kelowna court Thursday morning, facing charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000, and resisting police. Wagner, presumably the driver of the truck, also faces charges of flight from police and breaching his probation order.

Giesbrecht was released on $1,000 bail Thursday, while Wagner remains in custody.