BobCat theft
A BobCat was stolen from a compound near 50 Street and 52 Avenue overnight on Feb. 21.
The compound did have locked gates but an individual was able to wedge himself through a gap in the gates and gain access said Cpl. A.J. Mand, who added the keys were in the BobCat.
"They used the BobCat to ram the gate," Mand said. The BobCat was then driven around and to a waiting truck and trailer onto which it was loaded.
A witness said they spotted what was possibly a silver Ford truck at the scene.
The BobCat is worth approximately $30,000. It is white with orange, has wheels and is a model S205.
Anyone with information or who might have seen a silver Ford truck in the area is asked to contact the Innisfail RCMP at 403-227-3342 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Penitentiary drug drop busted
The Innisfail RCMP received a call from Bowden Institution on Feb. 19 about a male who'd been taken into custody after he was discovered transporting drugs in a bag and throwing them over the fence into the penitentiary's yard.
Scott Stephen Fitzgerald, 32, has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and breaching probation. The Red Deer man has been remanded into custody. Mand said a significant amount of a smorgasbord of drugs was found, including hash oil, marijuana and OxyContin. The man also had three cellphones in his possession.
Fitzgerald is scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court on March 1 for election and plea.
Taxi shenanigans
On Feb. 19 at 5 a.m. RCMP officers were called to a single vehicle rollover on Highway 2A.
The vehicle was an Alberta Gold Taxi that had been stolen from Red Deer.
A short time later a second call was made to the police from a nearby residence. A 16-year-old intoxicated male had gone up to the house and asked the resident to call him a taxi.
The man was arrested for the theft of the cab.
He was brought back to the detachment where Mand said the accused "had a scuffle with the members."
The man was charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer and one count of theft. The man, who is from Manitoba, was detained after it was discovered he had warrants out for his arrest from Calgary and Red Deer.
Bottle disappearances
Innisfail RCMP are asking for public help in solving several thefts of empty recyclable cans and bottles.
A press release from Const. Rick Buisseret said in January and February there have been several complaints of bottles being stolen, including one instance where a locked garage was broken into and 10 bags of bottles and cans were stolen.
Parents are being asked to be concerned if they notice significant amounts of recyclable cans and bottles on their property that were previously unaccounted for.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Innisfail RCMP at 403-227-3342, Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online at www.tibsubmit.com.
Impaired drivers arrested
On Feb. 18 a possible impaired driver was reported on Highway 2 at about 12:30 a.m.
"He was all over the highway," Mand said. Officers located and stopped the vehicle. The driver was charged with being impaired by drugs. An unknown type and amount of drugs were found in a search.
Another impaired driver was arrested on Feb. 19 after trying to avoid a barrier police had set up on Highway 2 due to bad weather conditions.
The vehicle was stopped after the driver tried to go around the barricades and a male from Red Deer County was arrested for driving while impaired by alcohol and lodged in cells until sober.
Vehicle stop leads to cocaine find
Patrolling RCMP officers ended up finding cocaine after a routine stop was initiated on a vehicle on Feb. 17.
The car was stopped on 46 Avenue behind a liquor store. The officers could detect the "fresh smell" of drugs and both men in the vehicle were detained.
The males were an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old from Innisfail. A search of the vehicle and men saw police find an unknown amount of cocaine in a pocket. Charges of drug possession are being laid.
Mischievous occurrences
Some teenagers got saucy after a 7-11 store clerk refused to sell them cigarettes.
On Feb. 18 at 10:30 p.m. three youth smeared nacho sauce over the store windows after the clerk's refusal.
On Feb. 21, someone let the air out of a Jeep Cherokee's tires on 37 Street overnight. There are no suspects.
A different vehicle was vandalized overnight on Feb. 22. A van parked on 39 Street had someone etching swear words into the tailgate.
Theft and fraud
A young man was charged with theft after he withdrew $1,800 from his mother's bank account on Feb. 14 at the Innisfail branch of ATB.
An unrelated fraud was reported on Feb. 15 when a woman was contacted by her bank because someone had hacked into her account, transferred money from her credit card to her chequing account and then sent the money to a Western Union location in Montreal.
The amount of money stolen through the hacking was unknown.
Mailbox shootup
A mailbox on Rge. Rd. 273 was damaged when someone shot it on Feb. 17.
Mand said it was about 4:50 p.m. when the landowner heard two shots and found his mailbox had been the target. The shooter had already left the area.
Ford follies
On Feb. 16 a 1994 Ford F150 was reported stolen from a woman's yard in Spruce View.
The vehicle was later located undamaged at Dickson Dam. Nothing had been taken from the vehicle.
