Members of the Leduc RCMP Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) have made a pair of arrests, recovering two stolen vehicles in the process.
In the first instance, officers received the report of a truck stolen from a parking lot on Airport Road in Leduc County, Alta, on April 27.
The CRU team, with the Edmonton Airport Security Operations Control Centre assisting, determined over the course of its investigation that the vehicle had been stolen on April 24 and a suspect was identified.
On May 4, around 8:30 p.m., CRU officers were patrolling when they observed a truck parked in the parking lot of Leduc Common with a “male slouched over the steering wheel.”
After a check of the vehicle identification number, which confirmed it was the stolen vehicle reported on April 27, officers arrested Anthony Whitford, 30, of Edmonton.
Whitford was charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. After an initial judicial hearing, he was remanded in custody until his next hearing on May 25 in Leduc provincial court.
In the second instance, CRU officers were patrolling at around 1 a.m. on May 5 in Willow Park Estates when an officer “observed a truck with a damaged driver’s side door.”
Officers ran the licence plate of the vehicle and determined that it had been stolen in Leduc overnight on May 3. The driver, realizing the RCMP were nearby, stopped abruptly and fled on foot in an alley.
CRU officers and Leduc RCMP officers made foot patrols of the area and called in the RCMP Police Dog Service for assistance.
Riley Terry Garrett, 27, of Leduc, was found hiding in a holiday trailer nearby.
Garrett was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000, failing to comply with a release order, and failing to comply with an undertaking.
After further investigation, Garrett was also charged with theft of a motor vehicle and a second charge of failing to comply with a release order and failing to comply with an undertaking in relation to the April 27 report.
Garrett was released from custody following a judicial hearing, with his next court date scheduled for June 1 in Leduc.
“Our Crime Reduction Unit supports frontline police work by conducting targeted enforcement, or “hotspot” patrols, based on crime trend analysis, intelligence and consultation with community leaders,” said acting Sgt. Penny Penney, Leduc CRU.
“We will continue to target those individuals who create the greatest harm in our communities and hold them accountable for their actions.”
Part of the CRU mandate includes conducting proactive community patrols in an effort to interrupt criminal activity and reduce crime.