Stolen goods valued at more than $100,000 have been seized by Saanich police in what might be the biggest such case in the department’s history.
Police seized so much from a home on the Patricia Bay Highway, near Sayward Road, that they had to rent a large storage container for the overflow from their indoor facilities.
There have been 90 charges approved so far, 45 for a male suspect in custody and 45 for a female suspect still at large.
The charges include 17 each for possession of stolen property under $5,000 and 19 each for dealing with an identity document without lawful excuse.
Sgt. Steve Eassie said the case began in October, when two men were arrested by Oceanside RCMP. He said the men were found in possession of a large amount of stolen property, as well as drugs and weapons.
Saanich’s crime analyst established a possible link between the men and crimes in Saanich, Eassie said, in particular to a theft of firearms.
The analyst then determined that one of the men likely had a female accomplice or girlfriend in the Saanich area, and the couple became the focus of the investigation.
Police then looked back at a theft of a free-standing ATM in July and determined through surveillance video and other evidence that the woman appeared to be involved. She was subsequently arrested.
From there, police obtained a search warrant for the residence in the 5800 block of the Patricia Bay Highway, where the man and woman were believed to be living, which yielded the “huge cache” of goods, Eassie said.
“There were over 1,000 keys of various descriptions,” he said. “We haven’t yet determined where all those keys were from.”
Also found were four rifles, a stolen vehicle, several stolen licence plates, jewelry, tools, generators, compressors, snow-blowers and pressure-washers, he said. “There were dozens, and I mean dozens, of sets of financial documents, as well as identification, and the potential for further crimes related to the seizure of those items.”
Misuse of the documents could have been “devastating” for their owners and led to identity theft and fraud, Eassie said.
“So far, of the files we’ve been able to directly link to these two individuals, it would appear as though [they] go back as far as February of 2014, so we’re talking almost a full two years ago.”
Most of the identified crimes linked to the goods occurred on the Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island, Eassie said.
“On Vancouver Island itself, we’ve seen incidents as far north as Parksville.”
Most parts of the Lower Mainland have been affected, Eassie said.
“There’s really no area that has not been touched by these two individuals over that way, and we’ve seen incidents as far east as Nelson, as well.”
It is unusual for people based on the Island to travel to the Lower Mainland to commit crimes, he said.
Eassie said others could be involved.
He said there is a “good possibility” that people in the capital region who had a break-in to their home or vehicle could find their property among the items police have seized.
He said there are more than 200 seized “exhibits,” many of them items that have been grouped together.
Police have been working to get items back to their owners, Eassie said, and pictures of many items have been posted to the Saanich police website at saanichpolice.ca for the public to view.
Darren George Chernoff, 45, has been remanded in custody and has a December court date. Zoe Jacqueline Thompson, 26, was released on a promise to appear in court Nov. 17, but did not show up.
A warrant has been issued for her arrest. Eassie said Thompson is believed to be on the Lower Mainland.
