On Thursday, April 15, 2021, the Southern Alberta RCMP Crime Reduction Unit (CRU), with assistance from the Alberta RCMP Livestock Section and the Rocky Mountain House RCMP, executed a search warrant on a rural property near Condor, Alta., after an investigation into stolen livestock from the Caroline area in early April.
Four stolen calves were located on the property.
A 44-year-old male of Clearwater County has been charged with four counts of theft of cattle, one count of fail to comply with a release condition, and one count of possessing ammunition while prohibited from doing so.
After a Judicial hearing, the 44-year-old male was remanded to custody and will be appearing in Rocky Mountain House Provincial Court on April 28, 2021.
"The four calves have been returned to their owner however the impacts from crime as a result of a theft of this nature are on-going" says Sergeant Gary Maclaren, Southern Alberta Crime Reduction Unit. "The victim will continue to experience not only the stress resulting from being a victim of crime, but also the added financial costs which include the cost of purchasing milk replacer and having to bottle feed the animals as a result of them being apart from their mother too long. Other impacts are long term effects on the mothers of the calves as a result of their separation which can reduce their value."
While police were searching the property, a male and female drove onto the property. Police noticed that the licence plate did not match the vehicle, and the driver was found to be operating the vehicle while being prohibited from doing so.
A loaded .45 calibre rifle was located inside the vehicle along with 12 catalytic converters and a quantity of suspected methamphetamine.
A 38-year-old male has been charged with:
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm
- Possession of a firearm knowing possession unauthorized
- Careless use of firearm
- Unsafe storage of firearm
- Possession of methamphetamine (Crystal Meth)
- Fail to comply with release condition order
- Drive while unauthorized (TSA)
After a Judicial hearing, the 38-year-old male was remanded to custody and will be appearing in Rocky Mountain House Provincial Court on April 21, 2021.
The investigation relating to the seized items is on-going.
The Crime Reduction Unit would like to thank the Clearwater County residents for their support and assistance during the investigation.
Anyone with information on cattle theft is urged to contact the Livestock Section of the RCMP at 403-701-1462, or their local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the "P3 Tips" app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.