Police believe a string of pickup truck and motorized equipment thefts reported this week have been committed by a "small organized group" and have arrested two men.
Dale Al West, 33, of Prince George, and Eric Joseph Heidemann, 23, formerly of Prince George and now living in Quesnel, were arrested Thursday afternoon when RCMP saw two men attempting to steal a skid steer tractor and trailer on Dennis Road in Quesnel.
Police said the two fled the area in a black Ford F250 pickup truck later confirmed stolen from a Jensen Road home on the west side of Prince George on Monday night. With the help of a police dog, the two were apprehended in a wooded area off Northstar Road in Quesnel.
Between the theft of the pickup and the arrest on Thursday, several other thefts were reported and believed linked to the two.
Early Wednesday, a green Ford F350 was stolen from a commercial property on 22nd Avenue, where, police said, a gate was rammed and there were attempts to steal two other pickups.
Later that same morning, at about 4:30 a.m., there was an attempt to steal an excavator on a trail from a Forest Avenue home in the Pinewood area and investigators believe the green Ford F350 was used.
Then, sometime over Wednesday night, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day, a grey Ford F350 was stolen from a driveway on Kovachich Road in the Blackburn area and a red Chevrolet Silverado pick-up was taken from the driveway of a home on the 1800 block of 12th Avenue.
The Silverado was later found Thursday morning in the Purden Lake area completely burned and the green Ford F350 was recovered on Highway 97, south of Prince George.
At about that time, police received a report of a 2013 Polaris Ranger six seat ATV stolen from a property near where the green Ford F350 was found. A gate was rammed in the process, police said, causing about $5,000 damage.
Also on Thursday morning, police received a report of an attempted theft of a Ford Ranger pickup from a Baker Road home. Valuables were in the vehicle but not taken, police said.
The six-seat ATV was located early Thursday evening on a Vanhill Road property in Prince George as well as a Ford F350 pickup stolen from Kovachich Road earlier in the day. The property's owner was not involved in the thefts, police said.
Police, meanwhile, are keeping an eye out for two more suspects they say are prolific offenders, a 24-year-old man and a 32-year-old man, both from Prince George.
Police are also asking owners to take extra precautions to prevent thefts, including using anti-theft devices whenever possible, keeping driveways lit at night, parking close to the residence, away from the road, out of sight and locked up.
