Tip from public results in charges for two Spruce Grove residents

Barrhead RCMP credit community involvement with the recovery of a stolen vehicle and ability to lay criminal charges against two Spruce Grove residents.

On June 28, Barrhead RCMP received a tip from a resident saying there was a suspicious vehicle parked on a road north of Vega.

Police before they arrived determined the vehicle, as well as the trailer attached to it, was stolen. The two suspects who were still in the vehicle were arrested without incident.

“This tip allowed us to recover stolen property and we are in the process of returning it to the rightful owner,” said Barrhead Const. Nicholas Crowther in a press release. “A community member took an active role in recognizing and reporting suspicious activity while it was occurring and this call assisted us with the investigation.”

Ryan Thomas Dean, 37, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while disqualified, possession of property obtained by crime and failure to comply with a recognizance.

Tasha Jean Laframboise, 28, was charged with possession of property obtained by crime. The pair were released after a judicial hearing with court conditions and will be appearing in Barrhead Provincial Court July 24.

Sgt. Bob Dodds, during the County of Barrhead July 3 council meeting, said they received a call about a suspicious vehicle on the sandy part of Range Road 33 shortly before noon.

“They said two people were in it sleeping and they gave us a plate which came back to us stolen,” he said, adding the truck had been reported stolen June 19 in Swan Hills. The trailer which was attached to the truck was also stolen from the Stony Plain area.

“The guy that owned the trailer didn’t even realize that it had been stolen,” Dodds said.  “So we got a stolen truck and trailer recovered and two people in custody that is a win and it all happened because someone saw something that they felt was a little iffy and they called us.”

Dodds then gave an example of how the detachment’s habitual offender program ended up arresting another subject.

On July 2, members went to a farmyard near Township Road 582 and Range Road 12 to check on an individual who failed to come for his regular court-ordered June 29 check-in with the RCMP.

“When they got there, they saw a stolen truck in the yard ... They executed a search warrant and in addition to the stolen truck we recovered two stolen snowmobiles and we are looking for a male who is going to be charged,” he said.