Airdrie RCMP said in a press release that officers have arrested two people in connection with a string of vehicle thefts and break-and-enters that occurred in Airdrie on Aug. 26.
Justin Gordon Denison, 25, of Calgary, and Denim Rae Kermeen, 22, of Airdrie, face 24 charges including multiple counts of Break and Enter, Mischief, Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of Stolen Property under $5,000, Possession of Stolen Property over $5,000, and Obliterating a Vehicle Identification Number.
Airdrie RCMP Media Liaison Constable Jason Curtis said Denison and Kermeen have been charged in the series of vehicle thefts and stolen license plates that occurred in the Big Springs neighbourhood at 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 26, as well as with the theft of a pick-up truck from Airdrie Towing and Logistics on East Lake Way at 5:05 a.m. that morning.
Denison and Kermeen have also been charged in connection with a break–and-enter at a residence and the theft of a vehicle in the community of Meadowbrook, also early on the morning of Aug. 26, according to Curtis.
“Investigation by Airdrie RCMP and the Airdrie Crime Reduction Unit led to identifying these two suspects and collecting the evidence to charge them,” Curtis said. “(The arrests) were based on witness statements, as well as the information on scene and information from other units such as the Airdrie Forensic Identification Services. We were able to form a pretty solid conclusion.”
Curtis was not able to confirm what evidence the forensic team collected.
The arrest was made in Airdrie and the pair were transferred to the Calgary Remand Centre from the Airdrie detachment, according to Curtis.
Denison and Kermeen appeared via CCTV in Airdrie Provincial Court on Sept. 8 for a bail hearing, however, Curtis did not know the outcome.
Curtis said investigators managed to recover some of the stolen property.
“We’re still sorting through (the) recovered stolen property,” he said.
“I don’t know what we have and what we don’t. We’re in the process of identifying everything and getting it back to its rightful owners.”
Curtis said Denison and Kermeen are known to RCMP.
“They have been known to us and they have been involved in similar events,” Curtis said. “They have been mobile. The majority of (the criminal activity) has been around Airdrie, though.”
Curtis would not comment on the details of how the pair are known to local police or any activity occurring outside the Airdrie jurisdiction.
Driving while suspended
A 24-year-old man from Fort McMurray is facing additional charges after driving away from Airdrie Provincial Court on Sept. 9 soon after receiving a 14-day suspension of his license for an earlier speeding charge, according to Sheriff Jason Graw of the Airdrie Integrated Traffic Unit (ITU).
He has been charged with Driving While Unauthorized under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act and if convicted, could face a substantial fine and/or prison sentence as well as a further six-month suspension of his license.
Graw said the man was spotted by officers of the Airdrie ITU driving on Veteran’s Boulevard at 11:30 a.m.
The man was originally charged with speeding after he was clocked doing 167 kilometres per hour on Highway 2 near Crossfield on June 28. He appeared in Airdrie Provincial Court on Sept. 9 and after pleading guilty was given a $400 fine and a 14-day suspension of his license.
Graw said the Traffic Commissioner advised the man he was not to drive after leaving the courthouse.
“We spotted him a short time later, recognized him and stopped him,” Graw said. “He will now be given a new court date, likely about two months down the road, and he’ll have to answer to the new charges then.”
“There was also a 30-day vehicle seizure that goes along with the new charge being laid,” Graw said. “When you are stopped and caught while driving on a suspended sentence, the province does seize the vehicle for 30 days. The thinking behind that is that if you don’t have a vehicle to drive, you won’t be able to drive.”
Graw said they will not identify the man because he is not facing any criminal charges.
Hit and run
The Airdrie ITU is looking for the driver of a semi-truck that was travelling westbound on Highway 566 near the Balzac overpass at 7 a.m. on Sept. 9. The semi-truck was pulling a flatbed truck loaded with a swather and struck another vehicle travelling eastbound, according to Graw.
Graw said the driver of the semi-truck may not realize the swather had made contact with the dark blue Honda Ridgeline pick-up truck, driven by a man from Calgary. Neither the driver of the pick-up, nor his female passenger, also from Calgary, sustained any injuries in the incident.
“In a situation like that when we have a semi-truck pulling a load and then a small passenger vehicle, sometimes the semi driver just doesn’t realize that they’ve made contact with another vehicle or object,” Graw explained.
“We would just like to speak to the other driver involved.”
Graw said officers believe the swather may have sustained some damage or may have some paint transfer from the pick-up truck and are asking any farmers in the area who were travelling on Highway 566 at 7 a.m. on Sept. 9 while driving a semi-truck to transport a swather to contact their local RCMP detachment or the Airdrie ITU at 403-945-7284.
RV break ins
RCMP is asking for the public’s help to gather information related to a break-and-enter at Race Track RV’s storage yard on East Lake Boulevard on Aug. 16.
Curtis said police do not have much information about the break ins that happened sometime in the evening.
“They broke in. They broke the doors on the trailers and then they stole TVs and barbecues that were inside the trailers,” Curtis said.
“We don’t know how many were stolen. It was quite a few, though.”
Curtis said Race Track RV didn’t have any surveillance cameras in the part of the yard where the RVs were stored.
“There are a couple of businesses that come off of East Lake Boulevard that have video surveillance footage,” he said. “We collected the footage. If we’ll get anything from it, I don’t know.”
“It’s a long shot, but if anyone’s heard anything or knows anything about it, please give us a call,” Curtis said.
Dustin Tremblay, sales manager at Race Track RV, said the thieves targeted the business and seemed to have a plan.
“The people that did it were smart, because we have a wide-open lot and have a lot of trailers lined up on the outside,” he said. “They didn’t touch one trailer on the outside. They came into our lot, parked and only went after the five or six trailers that are in an un-exposed area.”
Tremblay said the company has installed two video cameras as a result of the theft.
“We’ve got some extra lighting put up and we’ve actually put two video cameras in our windows, one pointing in one direction and one pointing in the other,” he explained.
“They’re motion activated.”
Tremblay estimates between the damage and the stolen items, the company is out $7,000 to $10,000.
If you have any information on any crime, call your local RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
