Stay informed with the LNN Daily Newsletter

Separate cases highlighted by Picture Butte RCMP in rural crime effort

Feb 13, 2018 | 9:19 AM

PICTURE BUTTE – RCMP say they have made two separate arrests, as they work to target rural crime.

A 30-year-old Coaldale man is in custody on multiple charges following an arrest Jan. 17. It began when a Picture Butte RCMP officer identified a truck reported as stolen from Calgary, on Highway 845 near Nobleford. The driver fled, and the vehicle was later found abandoned.

The suspect was arrested in Lethbridge with the help of the Lethbridge RCMP Forensic Identification Section and Lethbridge Police Service. He faces charges not only in connection with the stolen truck and flight from police, but other outstanding charges across southern Alberta.

Meanwhile, a 26-year-old woman has received an eight-month custodial sentence after pleading guilty in court in Red Deer to charges that include theft, break and enter, possession of stolen property, flight from police, dangerous driving, and assault with a weapon. RCMP said some of those charges were in connection with the theft of a truck, travel trailer, and backhoe from Coalhurst in 2015, property that was later recovered near Nobleford.

In a news release, Sgt. Tom Howell, detachment commander of the Picture Butte RCMP, said repeat offenders are responsible for much of the crime in rural areas, and the force is targeting those offenders in cooperation with other police agencies.