FORT ST. JOHN -- Fort St. John RCMP responded to an alleged commercial break and enter in progress in the 10000 block of 94th Avenue in Fort St. John.

Mounties say they arrested 4 people who were trying to steal commercial copper cable from a locked compound.

Police say a man and a woman fled on foot to a pickup and tried to escape from police, nearly running a frontline police officer over. Mounties say, the driver refused to comply with police commands and was pepper sprayed through an open window, prior to being taken into custody.

A second man and woman were also arrested on scene. The second man was found by officers to be breaching his Conditional Sentence Order.

"The quick reaction of the frontline police officers working, together, made this a very successful apprehension," said Cst. Chad Neustaeter, Fort St. John RCMP Media Relations Officer. "This gets two prolific offenders off the street and stopped any further damage to the property in the process."

Fort St. John RCMP say both of the men have extensive police histories and are being held in custody for court on Friday afternoon.