Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
On October 23, 2023, at 10:10 am, officers from the Gimli RCMP detachment responded to a report of a truck and trailer having hit the ditch near a property located on Highway 329, in the RM of Bifrost-Riverton.
Officers arrived on scene and observed two pickup trucks, one in the ditch and one on the property. As the officers approached the vehicles, two suspects were observed running away towards a residence, and a third having entered one of the trucks and driving away into the field at a high rate of speed.
An officer followed this truck as it drove onto Municipal Road 10E, heading towards Arborg. A traffic stop was initiated but the vehicle sped away at a high rate of speed. Due to public safety concerns, a pursuit was not initiated. As the vehicle fled, a number of items were observed falling out of the truck which were later determined to have been stolen.
The officers, who remained at the scene, approached the residence and advised the two suspects who were inside, that they were under arrest and were requested to exit the home and to surrender to police. After a short period of time, a 44-year-old male and a 45-year-old female, exited the home and were taken into police custody.
The pickup truck, which had fled the scene, was later recovered in the RM of Bifrost-Riverton and the investigation led to the arrest of a 43-year-old male.
The ensuing investigation, with assistance of officers from Stonewall, Fisher Branch and Police Dog Services (PDS), along with the positive reporting from community members, who assisted in picking up stolen items as they fell out of the truck, determined that the suspects were removing property from a stolen semi-trailer, which was being stored on a property in the RM of Rockwood, and transferring it to another residential property when their truck hit the ditch.
The recovered pickup truck on Highway 329 had been reported stolen from Selkirk on October 17.
A search warrant was obtained and executed at the residence, where the truck initially hit the ditch, and a large amount of stolen property, including a pickup truck, trailers, a quad and general merchandise, previously destined for a commercial business in Winnipeg, had been recovered. The value of the recovered items is estimated at over $500,000.
The 45-year-old female, from the RM of Bifrost-Riverton, was later released from custody for a court appearance scheduled for February 5, 2024, in Arborg.
Jeremy Peebles, 44, from Lloydminster, SK, and Stephen Ledoux, 43, from Winnipeg, were remanded into custody on numerous property-related offences.
RCMP continue to investigate.