Police rearrest teen auto thief accused of removing GPS device

Winnipeg police have located a teenage auto thief who had been on the lam after allegedly removing a GPS monitoring device.

The 17-year-old boy was wearing a GPS tracking bracelet as part of a pilot project launched by the province in April.

Police said Thursday that the boy is one of the worst repeat car thieves in the city, with numerous previous convictions. He has been designated a Level 4 offender under the Winnipeg auto theft suppression strategy, a program that monitors youth considered at risk of stealing vehicles.

A warrant was issued for his arrest in late April, when police said he had removed the ankle bracelet and investigators were unable to locate him. 

Officers with the Winnipeg police force's stolen auto unit located him Wednesday afternoon in the North End neighbourhood, inside an SUV that had been stolen a few days earlier, police said.

He faces a variety of new charges, including two counts of theft over $5,000, assault with a weapon, resisting arrest, driving while disqualified and failing to comply with sentencing conditions.

The teen was with a boy and a girl, both 15, when he was rearrested, police said.

The 15-year-old girl was one of two girls charged in connection with an incident on April 28, when the occupants of a stolen vehicle rammed police cruisers that had pulled them over.

The girl had been released on bail. She now faces new charges of possession of stolen property and failing to comply with bail conditions, and remains in custody at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

The 15-year-old boy who was arrested Wednesday is also considered a chronic car thief, police said. He was charged with two counts of theft over $5,000 and failing to comply with sentencing conditions, and is also being held at the youth centre.