Two thieves who were caught in a stolen pickup and attempting to steal an ATV in the early morning on Wednesday were arrested again the same day after stealing another pickup truck in Penticton.
On Aug. 2, at approximately at 3:30 a.m., the Penticton RCMP were alerted to suspicious pickup trucks on Hudson Street in Penticton whose occupants were alleged to have been attempting to steal a side-by-side ATV. The vehicles fled the scene and were unable to take the ATV.
A Ford F350, reported stolen a couple hours earlier, was also seen leaving a work site on Middle Bench Road pulling a cargo trailer. This vehicle fled from police, causing the trailer to come loose, striking a fence. A spike belt was successfully deployed on Johnson Road, causing the vehicle to stop a short time later.
The two occupants fled on foot but were located nearby with the assistance of a witness and the police dog. They were arrested for possession of stolen property.
The two males were later released on a Promise to Appear, and surveilled by the Targeted Enforcement Unit. Within two hours of being released, the two males were observed stealing a silver Chevrolet pickup truck from Brandon Avenue in Penticton. The males were stopped a short time later on Taggert Crescent near Highway 3A and both were arrested for theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property over $5,000.
“This was an excellent team effort by the police officers involved.” said Staff Sgt. Kirsten Marshall “It was successful because of the citizens of our community that provided us with the information needed to arrest these individuals.”
Two charges of theft of a motor vehicle and two charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000 have been sworn against Michael Dennis Carlston and Rajan Singh Sahota. An additional charge of prohibited driving was also sworn against Carlston. Both men have been remanded in custody until Aug. 16 pending their next court hearing.