ORILLIA, ON.) – The Orillia Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has been very successful in nabbing several people responsible for property crimes in recent weeks.
These crimes include Break and Enters and thefts from vehicles which have occurred in the City of Orillia and Severn Township.
This summer there was a significant number of thefts from vehicles, reported to police. Officers made arrests which led to search warrants being executed and a long list of stolen property was recovered. Many of the victims have been identified and their property has been returned to them.
July 15, 2015, during the early hours, a uniformed officer responded to a report involving suspicious persons on private property in the north end of the City of Orillia. Residents had observed two people going into vehicles. Police located two males fitting the description. Upon arrest, they were searched and their backpacks contained numerous items which included cash, sunglasses, Identification and other personal property. The items had been stolen from parked vehicles. Police linked the property to several victims from neighbourhoods in the north and south end of the city.
On July 21, 2015, officers investigating a fraudulent use of a stolen debit card were able to identify two suspects. This led to a search warrant being executed at a residence on Peter Street in Orillia where a large quantity of stolen property was located along with drugs. Six individuals were arrested and all were linked to the thefts from vehicles. Charges included Theft, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Possession of a Controlled Substance (CDSA) and prohibited weapons charges.
On July 31, 2015, a concerned citizen reported seeing three individuals attempting to get into her vehicle behind a downtown business. The OPP Street Crime Unit (SCU) attended and located three adults, all were arrested for attempt theft. It was later learned that two of the men were in violation of their probation orders.
On the same day, uniform officers investigated a break and enter at a business on Peter Street south and from video obtained, were able to identify the vehicle used. This vehicle was linked to several other break, enter and thefts in the area. The same suspect vehicle was caught on video at a Severn Township residence. There, the suspects were stealing mail from the home owner’s mailbox.
The description of the vehicle was shared amongst all officers working at the Orillia Detachment and within 2 days, was observed in the City of Orillia and was stopped by officers on patrol. During interaction with the two occupants, police learned the occupants in the suspect vehicle had just been involved in a theft at a business on Front Street. The two males, an adult and a young person were arrested. They are responsible for the many thefts that occurred in Orillia, Severn Township and as far away as Bracebridge.
Several charges have been laid. Charges include: Break, Enter and Theft and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime. The investigation is ongoing.