Three people were arrested in New Westminster yesterday while driving an allegedly stolen vehicle.
Around 3 p.m. on Sept. 24, local officers spotted a GMC pickup truck – that had been reported stolen out of Burnaby earlier in the day – parked in the 900 block of 12th Street, according to a media release from New West police.
A short while later, three individuals returned to the truck and drove away. With help from the Air 1 police helicopter, officers were able to arrest the suspects without incident, the release added.
All three suspects, including two offenders police say are prolific property thieves, were in court Thursday morning where charges were officially laid against them.
“We are extremely pleased that these individuals are now in custody, and we believe their arrest will have aa positive impact on some of our recent property crime stats,” Staff Sgt. Paul Hyland said in the release. “We hope the message is getting out to these property crime offenders that if you are going to commit offences in our city then we will be making it our priority to put you in jail.”
New West resident Kevin Richard Montemurro, 21, and Surrey resident Robert Arnold Karajaoja, 31, are each facing one count of theft of a motor vehicle and one count of possession of stolen property. Karajaojo is also facing one count of breach of recognizance.
The two men were arrested along with Monique Maisie Andreasen, a 33-year-old from New West, who was charged this morning with one count of possession of break-in instruments, one count of theft of a motor vehicle and one count of possession of stolen property.
Andreasen was released on bail while Montemurro and Karajaoja are still in custody at this time. The three of them are scheduled to be back in court on Jan. 7, 2015.
