Police in Nova Scotia are looking for a man who allegedly crashed a stolen vehicle and then allegedly stole a car from two volunteer firefighters who stopped to help.
Cumberland District RCMP say a warrant has been issued for the arrest of 34-year-old Bradley James Barton of Pugwash, N.S.
Barton is facing charges of theft of a motor vehicle, four counts of theft under $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime, mischief over $5,000, mischief under $5,000, and two counts of breach of a recognizance.
Police say Barton was involved in a collision in the Oxford, N.S. area, on Sunday with a vehicle they believe had been stolen earlier that day.
When Isaac and Brittany Smith, a husband and wife who happen to be volunteer firefighters, stumbled upon the crash they stopped to help the three people inside the smoking vehicle.
“We stopped to get them out. They were still inside the vehicle,” Isaac Smith previously told CTV Atlantic. “We triage them and I was on the phone with 911, getting fire, EHS, and RCMP rolling, and as I was on the phone with 911, the three occupants jumped in my car and they flee the scene.”
Smith said his blue Nissan Sentra was found in Amherst, N.S., Monday morning and is back in his possession.
The car sustained some damage and his wife’s purse was missing from the vehicle. Smith also said it appeared the thieves were rolling joints inside the car, as he found cigarette burns and traces of pot.
Police are now looking for Barton, who is described as a white male with a shaved head and blue eyes. He is six-foot-one and weighs 270 pounds. He has tattoos on most of his body, including his face.
Police say Barton shouldn’t be approached if spotted. Anyone who has any information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Cumberland District RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
