A 43-year old man is in custody and weapons and possession of property charges after a Ponoka area resident called in a suspicious vehicle.
Michael John Castle was arrested July 29 and faces three counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000 plus two counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 as well as two counts each of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon to go along with drug possession charges.
“We are glad the homeowner called us for assistance and even more pleased with being able to solve this investigation and recover a stolen vehicle,” said Ponoka RCMP Sgt. Chris Smiley
“This is an example of offenders crossing jurisdictions and our ongoing commitment to sharing intelligence and disrupting criminal behaviour.”
Ponoka RCMP were called about 5:30 p.m. on July 29 and responded to a rural residence regarding an unknown man who seemed non-responsive on the complainant’s property. Officers arriving on scene found the man inside the vehicle that was idling and were able to arrest Castle without incident.
A search was conducted, which revealed a small quantity of what was believed to be fentanyl along with two pepper spray containers.
Upon further investigation, both the Mercedes Benz SUV and the licence plate attached to it were found to be stolen as well as a second stolen licence plate was located inside the vehicle.
The vehicle had been earlier reported stolen from Edmonton and found to be involved in an incident in Cochrane on July 28, which was led to Castle facing two more charges — dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and operation of a motor vehicle while being pursued by police.
Castle is slated to make his first appearance Aug. 2 in Wetaskiwin Provincial Court where bail may be spoken to.
