Ditch and dashboard camera help Alberta RCMP end crime spree

A ditch and a dashboard camera helped Evansburg RCMP catch two people last week who now face a total of 60 criminal charges. 

The crime spree came to an ignominious end on Jan. 23, when a passerby called police to report a truck stuck in the ditch on Township Road 534 west of Evansburg.

RCMP officers went to the scene and determined the truck was stolen. The man and woman inside were arrested.

That's when the couple's problems really began.

Turns out, the truck was equipped with dashboard cameras.

"A subsequent investigation ensued, and it was determined the cameras in the vehicle had recorded several more criminal acts in various communities allegedly depicting the occupants of the stolen vehicle," Evansburg RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.

Officers followed the evidence and solved two separate rural break-and-enters. They also identified the owners of "six different electronics," and recovered stolen identification and another stolen vehicle, police said.

Total of 60 charges laid

A 39-year-old man now faces 54 criminal code charges, including possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. The man remains in custody and has a court appearance scheduled for Feb. 12 in Mayerthorpe Provincial Court.

A 24-year-old woman from Jasper has been charged with six criminal code offences, including multiple counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. She was released from custody and made her first court appearance on Jan. 25.

"This illustrates how important it is to report suspicious vehicles and activity in the rural areas," Brian Topham, RCMP detachment commander in Evansburg, said in the news release.

"This investigation resulted from an observant rural citizen who took the time to call us about a suspicious vehicle in the ditch. This could have been something with the potential to be ignored, given the time of year and generally snowy icy roads."