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Three vehicles stolen in Trail area, one linked to shoplifting suspects

Greater Trail police ask vehicle owners to not leave keys in car
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Black Press file photo

What started as a suspected case of theft from a Trail retailer, ended with the arrest of two men and the discovery of a nearby stolen truck.

This case began Wednesday, Sept. 11, with a call to the Trail and Greater District detachment from a local RCMP member who was not working, but just happened to be out shopping.

The officer phoned in to report that a 31-year-old man from Trail was allegedly shoplifting at Canadian Tire, Sgt. Mike Wicentowich explained in his weekly news brief.

“The off-duty officer had followed the male in the store and contacted his detachment when his suspicion was piqued,” Wicentowich said.”The RCMP attended and located a 22-year-old male suspect from Trail that appeared to be hiding in the washroom in the store.”

Approximately $350 of allegedly stolen merchandise was recovered from the bathroom along with the younger male, but there was no sign of the 31-year-old man inside Canadian Tire.

An attending officer searched the immediate area outside of the store and located the older suspect at a nearby bus stop.

“The RCMP recovered another $300 worth of allegedly stolen merchandise from the 31-year-old male suspect,” Wicentowich said. “The RCMP also located a truck stolen from Warfield, near the store. The stolen truck was believed to be connected to the two male suspects.”

Police are continuing their investigation. Both men are scheduled to make their first appearance in Rossland Provincial Court on Nov. 7.

This first stolen truck is one of three vehicle thefts the Greater Trail police investigated last week.

The second case was on Thursday, September 12.

A company-owned contractor truck was reported stolen from the Red Mountain Ski Resort in Rossland.

In this incident, however, the company was able to track the stolen truck through GPS and provided live updates on its location to the RCMP.

“After an extensive search, the RCMP located the stolen truck down a well known cross country skiing trail in Rossland,” Wicentowich said.

A male suspect, 43, from Rossland was found inside the cab of his own truck located near the stolen vehicle.

“The suspect was believed to have driven down the cross country skiing trail in his personal truck and gotten it stuck,” Wicentowich explained. “He then allegedly stole the contractor truck in an attempt to recover his own truck but had gotten it stuck as well.”

The man will make his first appearance to face a charge of Theft of a Motor Vehicle on Nov. 7 in Rossland Provincial Court.

Then on Friday, Sept. 13, the Trail RCMP received a report that a vehicle was stolen from the 1600 block of Bay Avenue in downtown Trail.

“The vehicle was moved to another area and items stolen from it,” Wicentowich said. “The RCMP continue to investigate this incident.”

In response to this latest trio of vehicle thefts, the Trail and Greater District RCMP is asking the public not to store their keys inside their vehicles.

“Present day vehicles have a number of security features which make them nearly impossible to start without the keys,” Wicentowich advised. “Leaving your keys inside the vehicle defeats all of your built-in vehicle security features which protect one of your most important assets.”



Sheri Regnier

About the Author: Sheri Regnier

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