May 17, 2019
May 17, 2019
A1 Security Crime of the Week
This week’s featured ‘Crime of the Week’ comes to us from the Town of Petrolia. Last Tuesday evening (May 14, 2019) just before midnight, a masked man entered a convenience store in Petrolia and he robbed the store while armed with a weapon.
It’s believed that he may have fled in an older model green pickup truck. (Suspect and truck photos below)
The suspect is described as a white male, about 6′ tall with a medium build and short dark hair. He was wearing a black & grey face mask, a dark coloured three-button style sweater, dark pants and white Nike running shoes.
The Lambton County OPP Crime Unit and Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers urge you to check out the suspect and vehicle photos online and take a good close look to see if you recognize either one. The suspect has some unique clothes on and some physical features you may recognize. And the truck itself doesn’t seem to the style you see every day.
https://twitter.com/OPP_WR/status/1129110436752875521
If anyone has any knowledge of this incident they are asked to call the Lambton County OPP Crime Unit at 519-882-1011 or 1-888-310-1122.
Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
The Sarnia Police are asking for the public’s help in solving a series of significant thefts of copper wire. Extremely heavy duty wire was cut and removed from services that run along the docks at the Sarnia Bay Marina. This wire is best described as ‘cable’ since it is about 4 inches in diameter and has 4 major copper wires running through it. Over 600 pounds of cable has been stolen in two or three separate incidents. On April 19, 2019 officers arrested and charged 4 people at the marina for this type of theft. Just days later, brazen thieves struck again and stole even more cabling from the same area.
Damage estimates are well over $250,000 and keep in mind that this marina is City of Sarnia property so, as taxpayers we are all victims of these thefts.
Copper wire thefts seem to be on the rise in the Sarnia area. If you have any information that may assist the Sarnia Police or the OPP in these types of investigations, please contact the police directly or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) and get paid for information that leads to an arrest.
Below is a photo of the type of wire/cable stolen from the marina.
Tim
Two Structure Fires in the County
On March 17, 2019 between 3:45 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. members of the Lambton Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) attended two separate locations to investigate structure fires.
At 3:45 a.m. the OPP attended the 6000 Block of Rokeby Line, Brooke-Alvinston Township to discover an abandoned farm house completely engulfed in flames. At 4:30 a.m. the OPP attended the 4000 Block of Shiloh Line, Enniskillen Township to discover another abandoned farm house completely engulfed in flames.
Both Brooke and Enniskillen Fire Departments attended the fire scenes of jurisdiction. The Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office and the OPP will continue to investigate in order to determine the cause of the fires.
The OPP are asking rural communities to be aware of suspicious vehicles and persons frequenting abandoned buildings within rural Lambton. If anyone has knowledge of these incidents, they are asked to call the OPP at 519-882-1011 or Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The Sarnia Police Service is looking for two thieves involved in a south end break and enter.
At approximately 2:00 am on Wednesday March 20th two males dressed in dark clothing and wearing gloves entered a business compound located on Tecumseh Street in Sarnia. Once in the compound these low lifes began smashing out the windows of trucks and stealing power tools and wiring from the vehicles.
The company lost thousands of dollars of tools as a result of this senseless crime.
You can help this local business and make some cash by calling Sarnia Lambton Crime Stoppers if you can provide information that leads to the arrest of these two low lifes
March is “Fraud Prevention Month” and it’s no coincidence that it is also ‘Tax Season’ in Canada. People are still falling for the scam where they receive a phone call from someone purporting to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)– asking them to provide personal banking information or even asking them to go to their bank to send money to them.
There are even cases where the caller asks the victim to go out and purchase iTunes cards, or Google Play cards and send them on as payment for tax arrears. To most people, this is an obvious example of a scam but to some people, the threat of going to jail for unpaid taxes can be a very scary and intimidating situation. Most people are too embarrassed to report that they fell prey to this type of scam and it’s estimated that only 5% of phone scams are reported.
So, to be clear…
The CRA will never
Also, the CRA never uses text messages or instant messaging such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to communicate with taxpayers under any circumstance. If a taxpayer receives text or instant messages claiming to be from the CRA, they are scams!
If you know someone who may be vulnerable to this type of scam, Crime Stoppers urges you to have a conversation with them – filling them in on the importance of verifying the identity of callers who are trying to separate them from their money. It is very possible that the caller is using one scam or another.
Other scams are known as ‘The Loan Scam’ – the ‘Tech Support Scam’- the ‘Service Scam’ or the ‘Extortion Scam’ but the common denominator is that the victim is being manipulated by an unknown person who has one goal in mind… getting money from them.
Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll free at 1-888-495-8501 if you think you’ve been the victim of one of these scams or if you’d like more information on this topic.
More information can also be found online on the following websites…
http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/index-eng.htm
https://globalnews.ca/news/4907961/cra-phone-scams/
This week, Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers is featuring the continuing OPP investigation investigation into the death of then 14 year old Karen Caughlin.
Lambton OPP continue to seek justice for 14-year-old Karen Lee Ann Caughlin who was found dead exactly 45 years ago.
The Sarnia girl was last seen on March 15, 1974, and her body was discovered at mid-morning the following day near the side of Plowing Match Road, between Churchill Line and LaSalle Line.
Caughlin had been at the “Rose Garden Roller Rink” in Point Edward, and was dropped off at a girlfriend’s house on Brock Street in Sarnia around midnight, but never made it inside.
Police continue to focus on addressing the nine hour gap between the time Karen was last seen and when her body was discovered 22 km away.
In 2017, police revealed science-based information that Karen’s injuries were consistent with being hit by a motor vehicle.
OPP Detective Inspector Chris Avery is again appealing to the public for more information.
“We know there are people who know what happened to Karen Caughlin,” said Avery. “We strongly urge them to come forward to help provide her family and friends with the resolution they deserve. Even 45 years after Karen’s tragic death, any piece of information may be the key to achieving that goal.”
A $50,000 reward for information remains in effect.
Anyone with information should call Lambton OPP at 519-882-1011 or Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Please click on link below to see the 2014 information video by the OPP
Lambton OPP are looking for two suspects who allegedly use a distracted theft technique to steal lottery tickets.
Police said at about 2:30 p.m. on February 4, two men entered a London Line gas station in Plympton-Wyoming.
One allegedly distracted the clerk who left the counter and followed him to the back of the store, while the other removed a box of lottery tickets.
The two men fled in a white Mercedes SUV.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Bruce Laroche, 40, and Thomas Laroche, 37, each of no fixed address.
Police say the two are known to frequent the London area and are currently wanted for similar offences in various counties.
If you have any info on these two contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
OPP INVESTIGATING PHARMACY BREAK IN
Lambton OPP are looking for three suspects after a break-in to a pharmacy on King Street in Forest.
Police were called just before 3 a.m. Tuesday and found the front glass door was smashed.
They say the suspects were only in the building for a short period of time, and nothing of significance was stolen.
The suspects were wearing hooded sweaters, gloves and masks.
Anyone with information is asked to call the OPP at 519-882-1011 or Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Theft of Copper Wire on September 26/2018
On Wednesday, September 26, 2018 a male suspect broke into the fenced power transmission compound at the rear of Eastland Plaza at 260 Indian Rd S – at Devine St in Sarnia. This is an outdoor compound which houses dangerous, high voltage equipment. It is protected by cement block walls, a locking wooden gate and barbed wire around the perimeter. There is even a sign reading “Danger! Bluewater Power”.
Surveillance video shows a good profile picture of the suspect working away inside the compound. The suspect managed to remove a section of very heavy cable and another section of slightly lighter cable. This theft was very risky and the copper stolen has considerable value as scrap. Although the cable in the picture is yellow, the stolen cable may not be the same colour.
In the photo, you can see that this was a clean shaven white male wearing a blue and red horizontal striped hoodie, a grey, flat-brimmed ball cap, and dark pants or shorts.
If you have any information about who this suspect may be, please contact Crime Stoppers at 519-332-8477 or the Sarnia Police Service directly at 519-344-8861.
Remember, you can submit your tip anonymously through our website at Crime Stoppers Tip … no name, no court, just cash for your tips!
Make the call that pays!
Sample size of 50 MCM wire (shown in yellow above)
Lambton County OPP is reporting a spree of thefts from parking lots and businesses in the Village of Point Edward.
Over a ten day period they have responded to six calls regarding thefts of bicycles, electronic devices and car batteries.
Residents are reminded to lock their vehicles and remove valuables or hide them from plain view.
Police ask you to report any suspicious activity immediately.
If you have any information regarding the losers committing these thefts you can contact Sarnia Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or go to our website sarnialambtoncrimestoppers.org to submit an anonymous tip.
