OPP Arrested 5 Teens As 'Potential Vehicle Thieves' & Found Tools Needed To Steal Cars
They had a master key!
Town of Hawkesbury in Ontario on Main Street at night.
Five teens allegedly had tools, including a vehicle master key tool, to carry out auto thefts. Their arrests follow a dramatic uptick in vehicle thefts occurring in Ottawa.
On June 4 at 2:30 a.m., the Hawkesbury Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) found the accused on Main Street. The teens were from Montreal and Brampton, which are roughly an hour's drive and a five-hour drive from Hawkesbury.
18-year-olds Roland Jeudy, Jaheed Phanor and Delphin Tsomba Tabona, along with two 17-year-old minors, have been charged with several violations in line with the Criminal Code of Canada.
All five teens were charged with "possession of Automobile master Key tool, possession of break-in instruments and possession of proceeds from property obtained by crime under $5,000."
However, Jeudy was charged with an additional three counts of "failure to comply with release order – other than to attend court" and "failure to comply with Undertaking."
The suspects are no longer in custody but are set to appear at the L'Orignal Court of Justice on July 6, 2022.
Earlier in June, the Ottawa Police Service said vehicle theft had doubled in the nation's capital this year. Police say that 21 Honda CRVs were stolen in two weeks.
Ottawa Police added that vehicles with push-button starts are also targeted, including the Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX, and Ford F-Series trucks.
Last year, the OPP said that they investigated over 3,000 stolen vehicles.
Police recommend that you lock up your car windows and doors, park your vehicles in garages or very close to other cars, install a third-party GPS tracker, and keep your key fobs in a Faraday box.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.