A routine R.I.D.E. checkstop turned into a high-octane bust when a rideshare passenger seized the wheel and floored it, landing two men from Brampton and Toronto in a heap of gun and drug charges. The drama unfolded late Monday, around 11:30 p.m., on Highway 69 in Pointe au Baril, about 120 kilometers south of Sudbury, where West Parry Sound OPP and Anishinabek Police Service officers were screening drivers.
It started innocently enough: a rideshare car with five passengers rolled up, and cops pulled the driver aside for a cannabis-related check. That’s when a back-seat renegade—later identified as Dylan Alridge, 27, of Toronto—leaped into the driver’s seat and peeled out, leaving two other passengers scrambling to bail mid-escape. Police weren’t fazed—they unleashed a tire-shredding spike strip, grinding the getaway to a halt.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a loaded illegal handgun, a stash of suspected cannabis, cocaine, and fentanyl, plus a handful of cell phones. Alridge and Kirk Hosten-Alexander, 33, of Brampton, were cuffed on the spot, hit with a laundry list of charges that could keep lawyers busy for months.
Alridge faces a whopping 22 counts, including fleeing cops, stunt driving, forcible confinement, and a slew of firearm and drug trafficking offenses tied to that prohibited pistol and narcotics haul. Hosten-Alexander’s tally clocks in at 13 charges, mirroring many of Alridge’s—think theft of the $5,000+ rideshare rig, weapons violations, and trafficking raps. Both were denied bail, locked up after a hearing, and are due in the Ontario Court of Justice in Parry Sound on March 17.
Got a tip? The OPP’s waiting at 1-888-310-1122, or go anonymous with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.ontariocrimestoppers.ca—snitches could snag up to $2,000 without ever showing their face.