(FORT FRANCES, ON) On July 10, 2014 at approximately 3:16 am, Treaty Three Police (T3PS) and Rainy River District Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers were notified of a single motor vehicle collision resulting in a vehicle being observed in a ditch on Highway 11 Couchiching First Nation. The driver was reported as being impaired. At the same time police were responding, an off duty OPP officer came across the vehicle as the driver was attempting to drive the vehicle out of the ditch. The officer stopped the driver’s action and remained on scene with him until on-duty officers arrived. T3PS officers attended, arrested the driver and returned him to detachment for breath tests.
Investigation revealed that the male driver had stolen a vehicle from a residence in Fort Frances, ON just prior to the collision. The vehicle was damaged in the collision and was subsequently towed.
As morning came, the owner of the pickup truck recognized his truck was missing and called OPP to report the vehicle stolen.
Jason Kelly OTTERTAIL, Jr., age 19 years of Couchiching First Nation, was arrested and charged with the following criminal offences:
Driving While Ability Impaired
Possession of Property Obtained By Crime Over $5000
Fail to Comply with Court Order x 2
Driving While Disqualified
He was remanded into custody with his next appearance schedule for July 19, 2014.
Auto theft costs Canadians more than $1 billion every year. About half of all stolen vehicles are used to commit another crime or are driven – often recklessly – for simple purposes of transportation (this is called ‘destination theft’). In these cases, the thieves are usually amateurs who taken advantage of owner negligence by grabbing the first vehicle they can find that’s been left unsecured (with or without keys). The key to protecting your vehicle is in your hands. Keep yourself from becoming an easy target by properly securing your vehicle and your keys.