By Sheldon Spackman

City RCMP are thanking the public for their vigilance in providing Mounties with information that led to numerous property crime arrests in Red Deer last weekend. The crimes took place between Friday, March  3rd and Sunday, March 5th.

Police say in two cases, citizens assisted them by detaining suspects who were attempting to flee. While RCMP do not encourage the public to ever put themselves at risk by confronting criminals, they are grateful for the support of the public in seeing that 39 charges were sworn against seven men for property crimes over the weekend.

The first such incident happened around 3:30 pm on March 3rd. RCMP say that’s when they responded to a report of a stolen truck that was parked in a field at Highway 11A and Range Road 273A. The occupant of the truck was wanted on several outstanding warrants from nearby RCMP detachments and was taken into custody without incident. The truck had been reported stolen out of the Sundre area earlier the same morning. 26 year old Joseph Murdock Hayden faces 7 counts.

Then around 4 pm on March 3rd, Mounties responded to a report of suspicious activity downtown in the area of northbound Gaetz Avenue and Ross Street. On arrival, Police found a suspect who was wanted on an outstanding warrant and who was in possession of small amounts of ammunition, methadone and marijuana, in violation of probation conditions. 20 year old Braeden Jacob Lewis faces four new counts.

Shortly after 1 pm on Saturday, March 4th, RCMP arrested two men as they tried to sell a stolen truck after arranging the sale online. RCMP located one suspect in the Village Mall parking lot, where he had arranged to meet a buyer who did not know the vehicle was stolen. When police arrived, the suspect attempted to flee on foot but was detained by a citizen and taken into custody by police. The second suspect was identified through the course of the investigation and arrested at a residence in the Highland Green neighbourhood shortly afterward. 31 year old Matthew Douglas Bauer faces three counts, while 31 year old Brandyn John Beach faces one count of Trafficking in stolen property over $5,000.

About an hour later, RCMP responded to a report of a suspicious car in a parking lot on Halman Crescent. Mounties arrived to find a stolen SUV. As police contained the scene in preparation to arrest the male occupant of the vehicle, two citizens approached with a second suspect they had detained after catching him in the act of breaking into a nearby residence. That suspect broke free and tried to flee but after a brief foot chase and attempts to resist arrest, he was taken into custody. The first suspect in the stolen car also attempted to resist arrest but was taken into custody after a brief altercation. Police seized a number of weapons including a knife, bat and axe from the vehicle that the first suspect was prohibited from possessing due to court-imposed conditions. 32 year old Aaron Frederick Brown faces 11 counts, while 23 year old Jesse Lee Sprague faces three counts.

Finally, shortly after 5 am on Sunday, March 5th, RCMP arrested a man after responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle and locating the suspect parked in a stolen SUV in a lot at 67 Street and Taylor Drive. The suspect assaulted two police officers before being taken into custody. Both officers sustained minor injuries that didn’t require medical attention. The vehicle had been stolen out of Red Deer on February 9th as it sat unlocked and idling. 25 year old Martin Victor Talbot faces nine counts.

In a release, Corporal Karyn Kay says “These successful arrests were all made because citizens reported suspicious behaviour to the police when they saw it, and RCMP are so appreciative of the public engagement and support we’re seeing. However, police urge citizens to never put themselves in potential danger by confronting a criminal. You have no idea if they’re carrying a weapon, or if they’re intoxicated and likely to react violently and unpredictably in their efforts to escape arrest. The police are trained in tactics to subdue armed or aggressive suspects. Please leave that to us – we never want to see a member of the public injured as a result of a confrontation with a criminal.” Kay adds, “RCMP thank Red Deerians for the active role they play in locating stolen vehicles and reporting suspicious persons and behaviours. It’s clear from the number of property crime arrests and charges we saw between Thursday and Sunday that citizen engagement plays a key role in the RCMP’s crime prevention and enforcement work.”