Calgary, AB,
06
September
2017
|
09:26
America/Denver

District Operations Teams lay 72 charges against auto theft offenders

Over the weekend, the Calgary Police Service District Operations Teams arrested seven individuals, laid 72 charges and executed 116 outstanding warrants in relation to stolen vehicle-related crimes.

Last week, the Service announced a new effort to focus existing resources on auto thefts and related crimes. Since shifting this focus, the District Operations Teams (DOTs) have worked closely with members of the Auto Theft Resource Team (ATRT) to address auto thefts through covert operations.

Since then, three separate covert operations initiated by the DOTs resulted in the arrest of seven offenders and the recovery of multiple stolen vehicles, drugs, weapons and body armour.

In each case, the investigations were initiated by identifying known prolific auto theft offenders who had outstanding warrants or were believed to be actively committing crimes. The DOTs worked to locate offenders, collect evidence and arrest individuals observed to be committing crimes once safe to do so. Assistance was provided by patrol officers, and members from HAWCS, the Canine Unit, the Centralized Break and Enter Teams and the Prolific Offender Engagement Team.

In one file, members of a DOT observed a man wanted on existing warrants driving a white Ford Mustang, registered as a rental vehicle, on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017. Officers contacted the rental company and discovered the vehicle was obtained by fraud and was considered stolen. Members of the DOT continued following the Mustang and observed the driver meet up with two occupants of another vehicle, at which point property was moved from the second vehicle into the Mustang. Both vehicles were followed to a parking lot in the 2100 block of Crowchild Trail, at which time all of the occupants exited both vehicles and were arrested without incident by patrol officers.

Officers searched both vehicles and located a loaded .45-calibre pistol, a loaded 9mm pistol, a loaded SKS rifle, body armour, three canisters of bear spray, $6,000 in cash, and almost $4,000 worth of drugs including hash, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

In relation to this incident, the following charges were laid:

  • Michael Anthony GHOSTKEEPER, 32, of Calgary, has been charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon, two counts of failing to comply with a recognizance, and one count each of possession for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime and possession of body armour without a valid permit. GHOSTKEEPER was also charged with 20 outstanding warrants. He will next appear in court on September 13th, 2017.
  • Tracy Leanne SUFFESICK, 33, of Calgary, has been charged with eight counts of failing to comply with a recognizance, four counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon, and one count each of possession for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime, possession of body armour without a valid permit, failing to comply with a probation order and possession of an identity document. SUFFESICK was also charged with 22 outstanding warrants. She will next appear in court on September 13th, 2017.
  • Chad Everett MUNROE, 40, of Calgary, has been charged with four counts of possession of a controlled substance, four counts of possession of identity documents, three counts of failing to comply with a recognizance, and one count each of possession for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of prohibited or a restricted weapon, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime, resist or obstruct a peace officer and possession of a forged document. MUNROE was also charged with 57 outstanding warrants. He will next appear in court on September 20th, 2017.

In relation to the other two investigations, the following charges were laid:

  • Darcy Frederick SHEPHERD, 54, of Calgary, has been charged with one count each of possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of a controlled substance, driving while disqualified and driving an uninsured motor vehicle. SHEPHERD was also charged with six outstanding warrants. He will next appear in court on September 26, 2017.
  • Trevor Edward Marshal HOGAN, 31, of Calgary, has been charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property under $5,000, theft of a motor vehicle, driving while disqualified, failing to comply with a probation order, driving an uninsured motor vehicle, driving an unregistered motor vehicle and hit and run. HOGAN was also charged on 11 outstanding warrants. He will next appear in court on September 13th, 2017.
  • Kyle Robert MECKLER, 32, of Calgary, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while unauthorized.
  • Daemond Anthony GLENN, 29, of Calgary, has been charged with two counts of failing to comply with a recognizance and breach of probation. He will next appear in court on September 13, 2017.