THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Police Service officers were in the area of John and Ontario Streets just before 3 am EDT on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, when they located an individual matching the description of a suspect involved in several thefts from vehicle complaints.
When police approached the suspect he fled on foot, but officers caught up to the male and found him to be in possession of the stolen property.
Among items recovered were: An iPod Touch, PlayStation 4 video game, Samsung cell phone, loose change, gift cards, cosmetics, and various other items.
A 38-year-old Thunder Bay man was arrested and charged with Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5,000. He is expected to appear in bail court today.
Car hopping refers to a criminal practice in which a person, or group of people, target a neighborhood and attempt to break in and steal from multiple vehicles in a short amount of time. Often a person involved in car hopping is checking for unlocked doors and ignores locked vehicles. However, there are cases where the would-be thief breaks into locked vehicles.
Car hoping is typically a crime of opportunity and among the best crime-prevention strategies is to keep all valuables – like cellphones, gift cards, and loose change– out of your vehicles.
If you have been the victim of car hopping, and it is no longer an incident in progress, consider making a reporter via the Thunder Bay Police Service’s online reporting tool: https://thunderbaypolice.ca/key-services/services/online-reporting
