Ottawa police say 4 dozen charges after GPS company tip leads officers to stolen vehicle

Ottawa Police sign outside headquarters on Elgin St. in Ottawa. (CTV News Ottawa)

The Ottawa Police Service says four people are facing dozens of criminal charges after a tip from a GPS company led officers to a stolen vehicle.

Police were notified by the GPS company that a stolen Toyota SUV had been located in the 400 block of Brittany Drive on Feb. 25.

Officers from the East Neighbourhood Resource Team, K9 Unit, and frontline patrol officers went to the scene and found four people preparing the vehicle for transportation, police said in a news release on Wednesday. The suspects, three men and a youth, ran away but were later arrested after a brief chase, police said.

Police said a subsequent investigation resulted in a total of 48 criminal charges against the four individuals.

Ottawa police said in a response to CTV News Ottawa on Thursday that the charges laid against the four accused included possession of stolen property, driving while prohibited, mischief to property, possessing instruments for breaking into motor vehicles, possessing an electronic device for committing theft of a motor vehicle, and conspiracy to commit.

Additional charges were laid for breaching their multiple release orders.

The incident detailed in the news release involved one vehicle.

“Three of the accused were currently out on bail for auto theft-related offences in multiple jurisdictions across Ontario and Quebec,” Ottawa police said. “One of the accused was scheduled to be sentenced in court for auto theft in another jurisdiction on the same day as this arrest.”

Ottawa police say you can report suspicious activity in your neighbourhood by calling the Police Reporting Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 7300, or online at ottawapolice.ca/report.