A Red Deer woman and man are in court this week after Red Deer RCMP arrested them at a downtown apartment last week in possession of a stolen vehicle.

RCMP were called to an apartment building in the area of 55th St. and 45th Ave. at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 22nd after a report that a man and a woman had exited a stolen vehicle and entered an apartment by climbing onto the first floor balcony.

Red Deer RCMP responded immediately and located the pair barricaded inside the apartment. RCMP contained the area and Police Dog Services attended; the suspects surrendered without incident shortly afterward.

Shae-Lee Lynn Phillips, 20, has been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000, and two counts of failing to comply with condition of recognizance.

Rory Richard Forslund, 32, has been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000.

The black Hyundai Tucson had been reported stolen out of Olds on Oct. 15th after it was left running and unlocked. The vehicle was reported to police in a number of incidents between Oct. 15th and 21st in Red Deer and Central Alberta, including several dangerous driving complaints, an incident with another vehicle that was reported as an intentional collision, and two gas and dash files. On each of those occasions, police responded and were unable to locate the vehicle.

“It is not uncommon to see stolen vehicles used in a number of criminal and dangerous ways before they are recovered, and often vehicles are passed from criminal to criminal,” said Cpl. Karyn Kay with the Red Deer RCMP. “In this series of incidents, the public was placed at risk numerous times over the course of several days as the unknown driver/drivers of the vehicle engaged in highly dangerous driving, including driving into oncoming traffic at high speed in one instance.”

Red Deer RCMP continue to investigate the linked Red Deer files, and remind citizens to never leave vehicles unlocked and idling, as it provides easy opportunities for opportunistic thieves to endanger the community.

– Fawcett