INNIFAIL – A Red Deer man is facing numerous criminal charges following multiple local complaints of an early morning prowler throughout town who was attempting to break into cars and homes.
Yesterday, Innisfail RCMP issued a news release that a suspect had been arrested.
The prowler, according to local RCMP and victims, had been marauding throughout town for at least the past week.
On March 31, 2020, many Innisfail residents woke up to find suspicious footprints in the fresh snow on their property and near their vehicles, said Innisfail RCMP Sgt. Lori Eiler.
Following the report of a break and enter, police trailed a string of offences leading to the scene of a freshly stolen vehicle, said Eiler.
She said police tracked the suspect to his suite at the Bluebird Motel and arrested one male following the execution of a search warrant on April 2.
Eiler said the male was found to be in possession of stolen property, identity and vehicle documents, and a substance believed to be methamphetamine.
“Hats off to our community for being turned on, switched on and watching for suspicious behaviour. They reported quickly,” said Eiler of the significant community cooperation that led to the arrest. “They made really good strong observations and that was key. What they had to tell us was key and instrumental for us to figure out who was doing this. Good job by the community.”
Last week on March 31, one downtown area homeowner said his family was awakened at 4:30 a.m. by an early morning prowler who forcibly attempted to gain entry to his home but was ultimately scared off by the barking of a family dog.
The homeowner said a family member heard a “thump” sound at around 4:30 a.m. that was followed minutes later by a doorbell. The family member then heard the family dog bark, which again was followed by another doorbell ring.
“The dog started to go a little bit nuts at that point,” said a parent in the family, who requested anonymity. Both parents soon got out of bed and checked the home’s surveillance footage. They saw images of a prowler wandering on their driveway, move garbage and recycling bins out of the way from the garage door and then unsuccessfully attempting to break open the door with his shoulder.
The prowler went back to a house entrance and again rang the doorbell. He then went to another entrance and rang that doorbell as well.
But the dog once again started barking and the prowler then left the scene.
“She (dog) definitely played a role in this. If the door bell rings she tends to bark, whether its friends or strangers she will bark,” said the parent. “I will admit I didn’t fall back asleep before I had to go to work. I was a little on edge.
“The interesting thing is that on the next morning I checked a crime watch page on Facebook and there are a lot of reports of suspicious activity in the south end of town,” added the parent.
Lincoln Charles Capel, 34, of Red Deer has been charged with two counts of break and enter, theft of a motor vehicle mischief under $5,000, three counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, three counts of illegal possession of government documents, three counts of illegal possession of ammunition, possession of methamphetamine and driving and uninsured motor vehicle.
Capel has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court on April 7.
If any citizen has information about any criminal activity, he or she is asked to contact the Innisfail RCMP Detachment at 403-227-3341 or if they wish to remain anonymous they can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or online at www.P3Tips.com
