Chain reaction: Bike theft reports lead to the recovery of stolen merchandise

$1200 worth of merchandise was recovered following the arrest of a bicycle thief in the North Peace.

A female was reported to the RCMP for stealing a bicycle at around 8PM on May 23, in the area of 104th Avenue and 98th Street in Fort St. John.

The woman was arrested by frontline police officers for the theft of the bike before discovering the woman had 2 unendorsed warrants, resulting in her being arrested and held for court.

A large garbage bag was located as part of the suspect’s possessions, containing new, unopened merchandise according to the release.

RCMP attended a nearby store where it was determined that around $1200 worth of merchandise had just been stolen by the suspect, including a large quantity of perfume which was returned to the store.

“A file like this highlights what can happen when there is cooperation between the public and police,” said Constable Chad Neustaeter, Media Relations Officer for the Fort St. John RCMP. “In this case a report from a concerned citizen resulted in the recovery of merchandise that had not even yet been reported as stolen and was able to be returned to the business.”

Local RCMP continue their investigation into the stolen merchandise and bike while additional charges are likely to be forwarded to the BC Crown Prosecution Service.