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Third escapee captured during police traffic stop

The last of three convicts who was on the lam after escaping from a work crew in Maple Ridge in December was captured Saturday night in Abbotsford.
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Ryan Plotnikoff

The last of three convicts who was on the lam after escaping from a work crew in Maple Ridge in December was captured Saturday night in Abbotsford.Ryan Plotnikoff, 30, was stopped on Highway 1 near McCallum Road by an officer who suspected he was driving a stolen vehicle.Const. Ian MacDonald said Plotnikoff was not forthcoming with his real identity at first, but the officer soon discovered he was wanted on a warrant.The escapee also allegedly had stolen ID with him.In addition to being charged with escape from lawful custody, Plotnikoff has been charged with possession of an identity document without lawful excuse, unauthorized use of credit card data, possession of a stolen credit card, and breach of probation.Plotnikoff had been serving a 10-month jail term after previously pleading guilty to possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of credit card data. He had been arrested Aug. 7, 2010 in Abbotsford with two terminals that had been stolen from a South Surrey business.While serving his sentence, he was on a Fraser Regional Correction Centre crew working in Allco Park on Dec. 30 when he fled with two other inmates – Douglas Erickson, 42, and David Traill, 48.Traill was captured a week later by Transit Police at the Edmonds SkyTrain station. Erickson is also back in custody, although the circumstances of his capture are not known.Both men were found guilty last month of escaping from lawful custody and were given an additional 30 days in jail, according to online court records.



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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