Police seized two rifles and arrested a former Chilliwack man when they executed a search warrant Saturday on a motel room in the 1900 block of Third Avenue.
Bradley Arthur William Van Geel, 29, attempted to escape by fleeing on foot but was quickly apprehended and taken into custody, Prince George RCMP Cpl. Kent MacNeill said.
Police uncovered a .22 calibre Cooey rifle with a tampered serial number and a 7 mm Ruger rifle, found loaded, unsecured and lying in the open, MacNeill said.
"Investigators believe that both firearms may be stolen and not yet reported to police," MacNeill said. "The investigators are asking the general public to check their cabins and homes to ensure that their firearms are accounted for."
Van Geel is prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years as a result of a 2011 conviction for robbing a Chilliwack gas station, then stealing a car from a nearby used car lot after attempting to steal a truck from a grocery store parking lot.
Van Geel was sentenced to three years probation for the incident after apologizing to the judge for the crime spree.
In November, he was sentenced in Vanderhoof to 101 days time served and one year probation for possession of stolen property.
From the latest incident, Van Gell faces four charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition while prohibited, two counts of possession of a firearm while unlicenced, and one count each of careless use of a firearm, tampering with a serial number and failing to comply with a probation order.
Anyone with information on where firearms came from is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP's crime reduction team at 250-561-3300.
