St. Paul RCMP recovered a significant amount of stolen property after executing a search warrant at a property located in the Lac Bellevue area, May 7. An Edmonton man now faces 34 criminal charges.
A report of a suspicious vehicle in the Lac Bellevue area led St. Paul RCMP into an investigation that resulted in a search warrant of a nearby rural property, according to an RCMP media release.
About 32 stolen ATVs, side by sides, snowmobiles, and sea-doos were recovered and towed away from the property. At a County of St. Paul council meeting held on Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Lee Brachmann noted that a number of the stolen items are believed to be connected to thefts occurring in the Lac Santé area, which has seen a spike in property crimes.
A dollar value had yet to be placed on the stolen property, said Staff Sgt. Lee Brachmann, on Tuesday. Brachmann had stopped by the County of St. Paul council meeting on Tuesday to offer the municipality a regular update, while also speaking about the search warrant.
“It was good work on the part of the investigators,” said Brachmann. The oldest file related to the stolen property went back about two and a half years, he added.
Twenty-two active RCMP investigations from across northern Alberta and Saskatchewan have been linked to the property seizures so far. The lone male suspect was not present at the property when RCMP executed the search warrant, but he was arrested three days later without incident in a neighbouring town.
Tyler Joseph Thom (23) of the Edmonton area now faces a long list of charges, including possession of stolen property over $5,000, altering/removing a vehicle identification number, possession of property obtained by crime, and uttering forged documents.
A June 9 court date has been set in St. Paul Provincial Court.
From January to March of this year, there were 11 break and enters within the County of St. Paul, and 26 property crimes overall, said Brachmann. There were also 33 reportable motor vehicle collisions, and one injury MVC within the county.
The detachment continues to work to educate people about what Victim Services can offer and help with, since many people are still unaware, said Brachmann.
He noted that there is also still work being done to educate people about property crimes, and how they can be prevented. An information session is coming up over May long weekend in the Lac Sante area, which will include both the County of St. Paul and RCMP.
Although some of the attention has been shifted toward offering extra support up north, toward Fort McMurray since the wildfire breached that city in early May, Brachmann says there will still be efforts made to do extra patrols of highways and lake subdivisions over the May long weekend.
A number of checkstops will still also be held over the summer months to target impaired drivers. At the meeting, Brachmann also noted that all the local RCMP that had gone up north to help would be returning later in the day, Tuesday.
He said the local detachment offered all the support it could to the situation in Fort McMurray, while also ensuring there were sufficient resources in St. Paul.
