Police scored big in a holiday bust in northeast Foothills County.
Foothills RCMP made two arrests and recovered approximately $250,000 worth of stolen vehicles and other items while executing a search warrant on a property off 2253 Drive near Dunbow Road on Dec. 29.
This included three trucks, four trailers, two motor bikes, a boat on a trailer, as well as licence plates and fabricated VIN numbers.
The bounty was due to efforts by boots on the ground rural police, said Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, a spokesman with Alberta RCMP.
“In this particular case, this was an officer who was conducting patrols because of a known area he had concerns with,” Savinkoff said. “In the process of that, initially located stolen property, then went back with a search warrant and located more.”
The various vehicles and trailers were primarily stolen from the Calgary region, including Foothills County.
Regular patrols are a key component of identifying where to focus efforts in vast rural areas, Savinkoff said.
“We know that the majority of crime is committed by a very small part of the population, so when we’re able to focus our efforts on those people and locations we’re able to streamline our service to be that much more effective,” he said.
“In this particular case, because we made arrests on an individual we believe was heavily involved in stealing vehicles, and the fact that we know more about him now will also help future initiatives and have a deterrent.”
Michael William Mcgill, 41, of Foothills County has been charged with five counts of possession of property obtained by crime, three counts of possession of a forged document and illegal possession of identity documents.
Nicole Kathryn Kiser, 33, of Calgary has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime.
Both individuals were released on conditions with their next appearance set for Feb. 4, 2022, at Okotoks Provincial Court.
