A woman’s stolen 3G iPad tracked down the alleged thieves and bust up criminal activity going on at a rental home in Brookswood.
On April 4, RCMP received a call from a woman in the process of moving from Alberta to Langley whose truck had been stolen containing much of her property.
The truck contained her iPad which has the ‘Find my iPhone’ app.
She provided police with a possible location. The officers went to a Brookwsood property located in the 4800 block of 205A Street and observed a man leave the residence in a truck bearing stolen license plates from a stolen car.
They followed the vehicle for a short time into Surrey with the assistance of Air One. The vehicle was stopped in the 18400 block of 76 Avenue where the occupants were arrested. Only the driver remained in custody and his three passengers were released, said police.
“It turns out the vehicle belonged to our complainant and the iPad was located under the driver’s seat in the truck,” said Cpl. Holly Marks.
Meanwhile, one officer had remained at the Brookswood property due to the fact that police checks indicated the two other vehicles parked in the driveway were also stolen. In that time, another man allegedly left the property in one of the stolen vehicles and was immediately arrested, said Marks.
Police obtained a search warrant for the 205A Street property and residence. A total of four stolen vehicles were recovered during the investigation, the iPad, more than 15 GPS devices, two digital cameras (one has been returned), several mobile DVD players, various car chargers and electronics, credit cards, two laptops (returned to their owners) and numerous personal belongings of the original complainant.
Some items have been returned to owners, however, some owners remain outstanding.
Police are asking the public to view the images taken off the recovered stolen camera in an effort to find the camera’s owner. If you are able to assist in this regard, call Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200.
Charged in this case are Langley residents Wolesely Silva, 19, and Benjamyn McLeod, 18. Silva has been charged with four counts each of theft of a motor vehicle and possession of stolen property. McLeod has been charged with three counts of possession of stolen property and two counts of theft of motor vehicle. Both men will next appear in Surrey Provincial Court on April 26.
“It is noteworthy that all four recovered vehicles had been stolen with keys found within the vehicle by the thief (thieves),” said Cpl. Holly Marks. “The officers in Langley are bewildered by the number of calls to police where valuable property and even keys continue to be left in clear view in unlocked vehicles.”
