RCMP are recommending theft charges against two Prince George men after seizing more than $200,000 worth of motorized equipment.
Their names were not released Tuesday, and Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass declined to say if either of them is the city employee who has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case.
The employee is a member of Prince George Fire Rescue, according to a source.
"As with any investigation, unless there is a public safety concern to do so, we would not release personal information about persons that are under investigation," Douglass said.
However, he did say the names will be released as soon as Crown counsel approves charges. In the interim, they have been summoned to appear in court on July 10.
A 37-year-old man was arrested May 1 when police seized a jet boat, allegedly stolen in Fort St. John in September, from a Bench Drive property. That action also led police to the recovery of an excavator and a trailer allegedly stolen from Fort St. James in August 2011 and a skid steer tractor and a trailer allegedly stolen from Grand Prairie, Alberta in June 2010. Two allegedly stolen flat deck trailers were also seized.
A 31-year-old man was arrested the next day when police executed a search warrant on a Jutland Road property where a jet boat RCMP said was confirmed to have been stolen from Fort St. John in July 2011 and a snowmobile allegedly stolen in Prince George in 2004, were recovered.
A second snowmobile and a four wheel all-terrain vehicle were also seized and although those two items have yet to be confirmed as stolen, Douglass said investigators believe them to be, as the vehicle identification numbers were removed.
Police are recommending charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000.
"There are three elements to a possession of stolen property charge that we have to meet," Douglass said. "The first one is that we have to prove that the item was stolen, the second thing we have to prove is that the person was in care and control or was in possession of it.
"And both those are relatively easy to prove but the third is that we have to prove they knew that it was stolen, which sometimes can be a bit more difficult."
Douglass also said investigators believe the items were "stolen as part of a bigger property theft ring throughout northern B.C. and northern Alberta."
