Couple arrested after police recover more than $13K in property

A man and a woman are facing a series of charges after a joint police investigation led to the recovery of $13,500 in allegedly stolen property.

Article content

Article content

Recommended Videos

Article content

On Dec. 13, members of Huron-Perth community street crime unit conducted a search warrant on a Line 21 residence in West Perth and, among the reportedly stolen items, recovered an Arctic Cat snowmobile and two snowmobile trailers.

A 29-year-old man from Stratford was arrested four days after the search and was handed several charges, including:

• Possession of property obtained by crime with a value more than $5,000;
• Possession of property obtained by crime with a value less than $5,000 (three counts); and
  
• Failure to comply with a probation order (two counts)

The man was held in custody pending a bail hearing.

A 33-year-old West Perth woman is also facing charges after being arrested on Dec. 29. Her five charges include:

Article content

• Possession of property obtained by crime with a value more than $5,000; and
• Possession of property obtained by crime with a value less than $5,000 (four counts)

The woman was released from custody and is expected to appear in court on Feb. 10.

In its investigation, the street crime unit was joined by members of several police departments, including officers with Stratford’s street crime unit, the Perth County and Huron County OPP, the West Region emergency response team and the West Region tactics and rescue unit.

Anyone with information that can assist with the investigation is asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.P3tips.comwhere you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

Article content

OPP report two victims of grandparent scam

The Perth County OPP is reminding people to “stay alert and educated” after two North Perth residents lost money in a grandparent scam just before Christmas. One victim lost $5,000 while the other lost $5,500.

Both victims received phone calls from someone claiming to be a family member who was in jail after a collision and needed bail money. A person posing as a lawyer told the victim that a “bondsman” would come to their house to recover payment. In both cases, the victims with Drew money from their banks that was provided to a person of interest who went to them homes in person.

The person of interest is described as a:

• Black male;
• Between 20 and 50 years of age;
• 5’5″ to 5’10” tall; and
• Wearing all-black clothing, including a black hat

Article content

In its release, the OPP noted the person posing as the grandchild or child on the phone might claim they have broken their nose in the collision to explain why their voice sounds different.

“If you receive an unsolicited phone call or message asking for personal information (name, birthday, address, phone number, bank information, SIN number) or payment via gift cards or cryptocurrency, do not provide the information and hang up the phone and block the phone number,” police said.

There are several warning signs to look out for, police added. These include:

• Emails, text-messages or phone calls sent at odd times of the night, creating a false sense of urgency;
• Spelling errors, lack of punctuation or capitals in sentences;
• Automated messages, random links or attachments; and
• Generic business or company names.

Article content