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BONNYVILLE – A significant amount of stolen property was recovered and a suspected chop shop was shut down in the MD of Bonnyville.
On Feb. 24, members from the Bonnyville RCMP and the Lakeland Crime Reduction Unit (LCRU) entered into a stolen property investigation after locating a stolen Ford F-350 service truck from Innisfree at a rural property in La Corey.
Upon entering the property, officers located two suspects who were found to be in possession of the stolen vehicle. A physical altercation ensued when an arrest was attempted, which led police to deploy their conducted energy weapon, also known as a taser.
Both men were arrested without further incident and the property was held for a search warrant. Police executed the search warrant the following day with the assistance of the RCMP’s K Division North Auto Theft Unit (ATU). Police located and recovered a total of nine stolen vehicles, as well as an assortment of additional stolen property.
The members then entered into a Trafficking of Property Obtained by Crime investigation after finding that several of the vehicles had received fraudulent vehicle identification numbers. Police eventually located and recovered three additional stolen vehicles as a result of the continuing investigation.
An estimated $246,188 in stolen property has been recovered to date as a result of the investigation.
Kyle Donovan Fletcher, 33, of Vegreville was charged with obstruction, assault on police, attempt to disarm a police officer, failure to comply with a release order, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and mischief over $5,000.
Dean Peter Gamache, 31, of La Corey was charged with trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000, tampering with a vehicle identification number, 12 counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, four counts of property obtained by crime under $5,000, and mischief over $5,000.
Both Fletcher and Gamache were held for a bail hearing where they were remanded into police custody. They are scheduled to appear in Bonnyville Provincial Court via CCTV on April 6.
The matter is still under investigation. Police would like to remind the public to be cautious when purchasing vehicles or vehicle parts through private online sales.
