Three hapless Calgary suspects are facing charges after a bizarre string of thefts ended with them being arrested on Highway 2 while trying to put gas in a stolen truck.
RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the mayhem began when three suspects in a stolen cube van ran out of gas on Highway 2 near the RCMP dog training facility 10 km south of Innisfail on Wednesday.
Stranded, the suspects went to a nearby business and allegedly stole a vehicle from the yard. They drove it through the security fence and then got stuck.
“They then went back to the business stole a vehicle, did the same thing, and got the second vehicle stuck,” said Savinkoff.
“They didn’t take the road. They tried to off-road it with the first two trucks,” he said. “It was obviously a poor decision.”
“They then stole a third vehicle, smashed it through the main gate of the business,” he said. “The third time they tried to change their strategies and went through the large gate and caused a significant amount of damage to the fencing of this business.”
The business owner, who was by now aware that something was going on, was able to trace the stolen vehicle using GPS and passed the location on to RCMP.
Officers found the suspects by the side of the highway trying to siphon gas from the last stolen truck into the cube van. Police recovered stolen tools and keys from the business.
Savinkoff said in another recent incident GPS was used to help police locate a stolen work truck in the Whitecourt area.
“We’re obviously seeing this more often and it’s certainly been of great assistance to us.”
Three Calgary men, aged 39, 45 and 48 and are facing theft-related charges in connection with the incident.
They are each facing three counts of theft over $5,000, two counts of mischief under $5,000, as well as one count each of break and enter and possession of stolen property over $5,000.
The 45-year-old remains in custody and is due in Red Deer provincial court on Jan. 10. The other two were released and are due in Red Deer provincial court on Feb. 1.
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