Photo courtesy of the Western Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit 

By Emily Keller

Rural Crime Reduction Unit

Two arrested in relation to recent rural crime spree

Sep 5, 2019 | 3:04 PM

Two suspects have been arrested by the RCMP’s Western Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit in relation to a rural crime spree that happened over a period of approximately 10 days.

On August 27th, RCMP located the pair at a campsite in the MD of Greenview, where they recovered a stolen pickup truck, a stolen travel trailer, a stolen quad, and thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen property.

Police also executed a search warrant at a storage unit in Clairmont and recovered stolen property believed to have been obtained from multiple break and enters that occurred over the past few weeks.

Thirty-year-old Jeremi Daniel Riopka and 23-year-old Tabatha Whitney Willier, both of Grande Prairie, have been charged with a total of 24 Criminal Code offenses, including:

• Multiple counts of Possession of Stolen Property
• Multiple counts of Fail to Comply with Recognizance
• Possession of Break-In Instruments

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Riopka was also charged with resisting arrest and assault with a weapon after attempting to evade arrest.

The pair have also been charged with assault with a weapon after a rural homeowner and his dog were sprayed with bear spray after confronting them on his property on August 24.

Police anticipate that more charges will be laid against them in the upcoming days in relation to the storage unit search.

The two were out on bail at the time, having been previously arrested in August 11 after being found in a stolen truck.

Willier and Riopka have been remanded into custody and are to appear in Grande Prairie Provincial Court on September 9.

The Western Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit are also requesting assistance in identifying the owners of a large portion of the stolen property. Items recovered include:

• Generators
• Pressure washers
• Air compressors
• Power tools
• A gun safe
• Survey equipment
  Stolen items recovered (Photo courtesy of the Western Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit)

If you have been a victim of recent property crime and believe some of your property may have been recovered, please contact RCRU by calling 780-831-2382.