With assault rifles drawn and police dogs at their heel, Penticton RCMP in cooperation with multiple law enforcement agencies in the Okanagan arrested two of the top 10 most wanted auto theft suspects in B.C. during a night-time raid of a hotel.
Matthew Soper, 28, and Laetitia Acera, 21, are in custody along with an unidentified female suspect after the raid on the Best Western Hotel on Skaha Lake Road around 1 a.m. Thursday.
A second male suspect was taken into custody and released pending further investigation.
Soper and Acera are known by police to have 17 outstanding warrants for their arrest from numerous offences in the Lower Mainland and Okanagan over the past several months according to RCMP. The two were also featured on the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team’s (IMPACT) top 10 most wanted vehicle crime offenders, and Soper was on Surrey’s most wanted list.
Penticton RCMP said an investigation into numerous break ins of vehicles and residences in both Okanagan Falls and Penticton revealed a number of credit and bank cards stolen were quickly used around Penticton.
Police identified a possible suspect vehicle at the hotel, which they believed to be stolen out of White Rock.
Members of Penticton RCMP who were assisted by IMPACT and Kelowna RCMP moved in to arrest the suspects when police say one of the males ran and was seen discarding a loaded handgun in a bush nearby. Police say he was pursued by a police service dog and apprehended.
The other suspects were arrested without incident.
The RCMP say that a preliminary investigation shows Soper was involved in the recent rash of theft in Penticton and Okanagan Falls, and that further charges are coming.