Two suspects are in custody after a property crime spree in Prince George.
According to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Craig Douglass, Kelsey Alexander Allard and Stephanie Deschene are now facing multiple charges in the alleged offenses.
Douglass said the police began their investigation at about 9 a.m. on Sept. 8, but the suspicious incidents began to grow in what they believed was a pattern.
"The first report came when a local man returned to his Vista View Road home to find an SUV backed into his garage and his belongings being loaded in.
"The suspects fled in the vehicle, narrowly missing the owner's vehicle," Douglass said.
"At approximately 11 a.m. (the same day), officers received a second report, this time an attempted break-and-enter at a residence on Haldi Road on the west side of the city. An alarm was triggered at the residence before entry was gained. Evidence found led officers to believe the same suspects from the Vista View break-in were also responsible for this incident," he added. About an hour later, said Douglass, police were called to the next in the suspected series, that being a report of license plates having been stolen off a vehicle parked at College Heights secondary school. It was believed the plates had been stolen earlier that same morning.
"At approximately 12:45 p.m., officers located what was believed to be the same SUV near Kimball Road, on the west side of Prince George," Douglass continued.
"The allegedly stolen license plates were attached to the SUV. Officers activated emergency equipment and attempted to pull the vehicle over. The driver of the SUV failed to stop for police and nearly rammed the fully marked police vehicle. The SUV travelled west on Highway 16 at a high rate of speed. Police pursued the vehicle for a very short period, but cancelled the pursuit in the interest of public safety. The vehicle was last seen heading west of Highway 16 in the Beaverly area."
Clues obtained in that encounter allowed Prince George RCMP to determine the SUV was itself allegedly stolen on Sept. 4 from Grande Prairie.
It was not the last time Prince George RCMP would have contact with this vehicle. At about 5 p.m. the same day, a call from the public tipped them off about suspicious activity on Loland Road.
"Officers attended and located the stolen vehicle, unoccupied but full of stolen items from multiple break- and-enter investigations in Kamloops and Prince George," said Douglass.
"The investigation then led officers to a business near the corner of 15th Avenue and Highway 97 in Prince George. Officers located and arrested a man believed to be (involved in) the earlier crimes. The 33-year-old man was alone and initially provided a false name to officers. He was found in possession of stolen property from Grande Prairie, Kamloops and Prince George break-and-enters."
The next day at approximately
6 p.m., a second suspect was located and arrested in relation to these allegations, that being a 25-year-old female.
She was in possession of property believed to be obtained from the spate of thefts and was also the subject of an outstanding Canada-wide warrant for being unlawfully at large.
Allard and Deschene are being held pending an initial court appearance scheduled for Sept. 21.
