News Fri AM May 3

Five youths were arrested in Fredericton for vehicle theft after high-speed chases. The police used a helicopter to track the suspects. The investigation involved stolen vehicles, but it is not believed to be part of a larger operation. The youths are facing various charges. In another news story, a man from Quebec was arrested for assault in St. Stephen. He remains in custody. Lastly, the Education Minister is taking action to disband the Anglophone East District Education Council due to their court challenge. The Council is accused of using funds irresponsibly. Good morning. This is Friday, May the 3rd. Here is your morning news. In our first news story this morning, Fredericton police say five youths were arrested in a high-profile sting-targeting vehicle theft that saw high-speed chases across the city last Thursday. The operation on April the 25th included the RCMP and the use of RCMP air services as the force's helicopter was used to track fleeing suspects who were attempting to escape at high speeds, Fredericton police said. The vehicles were noted traveling in excess of 50 kilometers per hour over the posted speed limit, endangering the lives of other motorists and bystanders at different locations and on separate occasions in the Fredericton region, police said in a news release announcing the arrests. Police said the investigation involved several stolen vehicles and several files, but don't believe the ring is related to a larger organized operation. All five youths were charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and one is facing a slew of other charges including flight from police, mischief, endangering life and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. As well, one youth faces several other charges that date to earlier this year and last year including robbery, assaulting a police officer with a weapon and failing to comply with a release order. Two of the youths were held in custody until a further court date, while three were released on condition, police said. None can be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. In our next news story, police say a 25-year-old man from Quebec was arrested for an assault in St. Stephen on Tuesday that sent a man to the hospital with minor injuries. Christopher Wilmot of Alder Street in Listigwig, Quebec, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in St. John Provincial Court to charges of assault causing bodily harm and breach of a probation condition not to possess weapons according to court documents. Police said in the release that the investigation is ongoing. Wilmot remains in custody with a bail hearing scheduled for Monday according to court documents. And in our final news story, New Brunswick's Education Minister says he's taking action to disband the Anglophone East District Education Council over its Policy 713 court challenge. On Thursday evening, Erica Jutras, Communications Director for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, released a statement from the Education Minister, Bill Hogan, stating that he believed the Education Council is using funds in an irresponsible manner. They are diverting almost $300,000 from classrooms to Ontario-based lawyers to file a motion to fight the rights of parents to be informed about their kids under 16, Hogan said in the statement. In a letter dated April 30, Hogan gave the Council until 5 p.m. on May 2 to end their court proceedings. Instead, on May 1, they filed a Notice of Action against the province, asking the court to declare that sections of the policy are contrary to Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Act. The Minister wrote that the money doesn't fall within any of the permissible categories of the Education Act and is a misappropriation of public funds as they were meant to support public education. Given the response received from the District Education Council, they have left me no option but to commence the process for dissolution of the Anglophone East District Education Council, since dissolution under the Education Act requires application to the court. I won't comment further, read Hogan's Thursday statement. And that's your news for Friday morning, May the 3rd. My name is Gordon Wilson.