One of the suspects from a series of break-ins on Aug. 15 in Rocky View County has been charged by the Cochrane RCMP and it is believed there may have been more break-ins and other culprits involved.

Calgary man Dereck Wayne Mcinnis, 41,  was arrested near the scene and has been charged with breaking and entering a residence and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Aug. 15, Cochrane RCMP responded to three break-and-enters in progress in the areas of Villosa Ridge and Springbank, says RCMP public information officer Troy Savinkoff.

suspects vehicle

The suspects were driving a white 4-door Volkswagen sedan.

"The suspects are believed to have driven onto properties and rang doorbells to determine if someone was home," explains Cpl. Savinkoff. "If there was no answer, the suspects would then force entry into the residence."

The RCMP say the arrest was aided by the quick reporting of the break-in by a homeowner in Villosa Ridge in the Springbank area, who was alerted by his security system.

Cpl. Savinkoff is urging others to check their security systems.

"We believe that there may have been other break-ins that have yet to be reported," says Cpl. Savinkoff. "We also believe that there are additional suspects and we think that there could be evidence out there in those communities on surveillance photos or surveillance footage that might help us with our continued investigation."

"Anyone who lives in that area, check your house cameras around that time and alert us if you see a white vehicle or anything suspicious. We're also releasing a photo of some items seized from the suspect in hopes that somebody in the area who might also be a victim might recognize the items and alert us to it."

Getting a heads-up about a crime in progress increases the success rate of solving crimes of this nature in short order. 

"What it allows our officers to do, especially if the suspects aren't alerted to the fact that we're on our way, is we're able to develop a plan on sort of a plan of attack, really on how we're going to approach that, and wow we're going to contain the area. So when the suspects do see us, we're going to be in an advantageous position in order to make an arrest.

Mcinnis was taken before a justice of the peace and released from custody. His next court date is set for Sept. 19 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Cochrane.

Cochrane RCMP reminds the public to report any suspicious activities to the police immediately.

If you have any information about this crime or the suspect(s) involved, you are asked to contact the Cochrane RCMP at  403-932-2211. If you wish to remain anonymous you can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1‐800‐222‐8477 (TIPS), by Internet at www.tipsubmit.com or by SMS (check your local Crime Stoppers www.crimestoppers.ab.ca for instructions).

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, CochraneNow encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading CochraneNow.