‘High-risk offender’ charged after allegedly fleeing from police on N.S. highways

A car crash closed a section of Highway 102 in Nova Scotia on Thursday.

The Nova Scotia RCMP says it has arrested and charged a high-risk offender following a crash on Highway 102 Thursday morning.

Colchester County District RCMP saw a vehicle associated with a man wanted for offences related to intimate partner violence in Lower Truro around 10 a.m. Police say he also had charges pending for firearms offences.

Officers tried to pull the vehicle over on Highway 236. Police say they followed the vehicle after it didn’t stop and continued driving at a high rate of speed.

Officers deployed spike belts on Highway 236 and then on Highway 215 in East Hants to try and stop it.

Police say the suspect’s vehicle was damaged but he continued to flee.

The RCMP’s Emergency Response Team and Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables air services were also called in to assist. 

Police say the suspect drove on the shoulder of Highway 102 from Highway 215, then drove northbound in the southbound lanes.

The vehicle was then seen trying to turn around and head south in the southbound lane.

The Emergency Response Team and a K9 unit later “intercepted” the vehicle on Highway 102 between Exit 11 and Exit 12.

A viewer sent CTV Atlantic a video showing a collision between a truck and a sedan on the highway near Exit 11 in Stewiacke.

Police said in a post on X around 11:30 a.m. officers had two people, including a high-risk offender, in custody.

The RCMP identified the driver as 33-year-old Stephen Joseph “Dakota” Maloney and the second person as a passenger.

Police say they learned the passenger was a victim and they were released from custody.

Maloney sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital by EHS.

“We understand how unsettling it must’ve been for those travelling along Hwy. 102 and witnessed the suspect vehicle driving erratically in the wrong direction,” said Supt. Sean Auld, Officer in Charge of Support Services, in a Friday news release.

“Our officers continually assessed the situation from a public safety perspective, and working in collaboration with DNRR, officers relied on their training to safely stop the vehicle and arrest the offender.”

Maloney has been charged with:

- flight from a peace officer

- dangerous operation

- operation while prohibited

- forcible confinement

- failure to comply with order

He appeared in Truro provincial court on Thursday and was remanded into custody pending future court appearances.

Police say their investigation is ongoing. 

They are asking anyone with information about the incident to call them at 902-893-6820 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

The highway was closed for several hours Thursday. It has since reopened.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page