A man who rammed a police vehicle in an attempt to evade arrest in Evansburg has been sentenced to 240 days in prison, with 22 days left to serve.
Jesse David Haarstad, 33, pleaded guilty to two charges in the Evansburg Court of Justice during his July 27 trial: flight from a peace officer and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. Five other charges were withdrawn.
Haarstad was sentenced to 240 days in prison but credited for 218 days served, leaving him with 22 days left in his sentence.
On the evening of Oct. 15, 2025, Evansburg RCMP received a report from a concerned citizen about a suspicious vehicle on a back road in Yellowhead County. Officers patrolled the area and found the vehicle, at which point the driver rammed the RCMP vehicle in an attempt to escape.
Police continued to track the vehicle while additional members arrived from the Evansburg detachment, as well as Mayerthorpe RCMP, Drayton Valley RCMP and Parkland RCMP. The operation was overseen by the Alberta RCMP Real Time Operation Centre (RTOC).
RCMP disabled the vehicle and utilized Alberta RCMP Police Dog Services to track down the suspect, who fled on foot.
Police say Haarstad is not known to be from the area, but is well known by enforcement services in central Alberta. In addition to this incident’s charges, officers executed two arrest warrants based out of Lacombe and Hinton.
He was brought before a justice of the peace and remanded into custody.
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