One person has been arrested after police say a delivery driver was threatened with a machete in the Searchmont area on Friday afternoon.
The 30-year-old is also accused of stealing money and the victim's vehicle before stealing cigarettes from a Goulais River business.
As the accused fled the area in the stolen vehicle, police say they struck another vehicle and drove northbound on Highway 17.
The accused was apprehended in the Batchawana Bay area with the aid of the North East Region Canine unit and the Emergency Response Team.
Full details of this incident are outlined in the news release below:
SEARCHMONT - On Sept. 16, 2022 at approximately 3 p.m., members from the Sault Ste Marie Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), North East Region Canine, the Emergency Response Team (ERT) and with the assistance from Batchewana First Nation Police Service responded to a theft of a motor vehicle from a residence on Highway 556 in the Town of Searchmont.
Investigation determined an individual attend the residence to deliver food and at some point, the interaction between two people turned violent. [It is alleged that] the occupant of the residence threatened the delivery person with a machete, stole the victim's money and delivery car.
The driver of the stolen vehicle then attended a local store in Goulais River and stole cigarettes. While fleeing the store, the driver struck a vehicle and was headed northbound on Highway 17.
Later, police located the vehicle abandoned on Mile 38 Road in the Batchawana Bay area. The Canine Unit along with the ERT members conducted a track. Shortly after 7 p.m., the suspect came out of the bush and was arrested.
As a result, Muhammet Kamacihan, 30 years of age from Searchmont, was charged with:
• Possession of weapon dangerous purpose, contrary to section 88 of the Criminal Code (CC)
• Uttering threats - cause death or bodily harm, contrary to section 264.1(1)(a) of the CC
• Robbery with theft, contrary to section 344(1)(b) of the CC
• Theft of motor vehicle, contrary to section 333.1 of the CC
• Theft under $5,000 contrary to section 334(b) of the CC
• Assault with a weapon, contrary to section 267(a) of the CC
• Dangerous operation, contrary to section 320.13(1) of the CC
• Drive while under suspension, contrary to section 53(1) of the Highway Traffic Act
The accused appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice Bail Court in Sault Ste Marie on Sept. 17, 2022.