Handguns stolen from Range Lake home
Weapons recovered after traffic stop in Enterprise Friday; two Yellowknife residents charged
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two Yellowknife residents remain in custody after they were charged with possessing five handguns, believed to have been stolen in a Yellowknife residential break-in last Friday morning.
Michael Robert Taylor of Yellowknife is charged with several weapons and drug-related offences after a traffic stop in Enterprise last Friday. - Facebook photo |
According to Hay River RCMP, the two suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested on Highway 1 on the outskirts of the Hamlet of Enterprise, about 40 kilometres south of Hay River following a traffic stop.
According to Hay River RCMP Const. Matt Halstead, a vehicle that was allegedly speeding was pulled over on Highway 1 on the outskirts of the hamlet last Friday afternoon. Inside the Honda Civic, police found three handguns and ammunition reported stolen from a home in the Range Lake area just hours earlier. Police then obtained a search warrant and while looking through the vehicle more thoroughly, discovered two more handguns as well as small amounts of cocaine and marijuana, Halstead told Yellowknifer in an interview.
Halstead said the firearms were not loaded at the time but added ammunition found in the car was "readily available." He added the two suspects were arrested at the scene before the search warrant was executed. He could not say exactly where in the car the weapons were discovered.
Yellowknife RCMP had told Hay River officers prior to the traffic stop to be on the lookout for that vehicle, Halstead said. There is no indication from the Mounties in Yellowknife how they connected that vehicle to the stolen guns.
Halstead said all five handguns were lawfully registered. He described the arrests and gun seizures as positive news.
"The theft of firearms poses a significant threat to the safety of the public and our officers," stated Halstead in a news release.
RCMP in Yellowknife are not giving the address of the home where the weapons were stolen nor are they shedding any other light on the burglary, including whether that home had been targeted previously by gun thieves.
"Yellowknife RCMP continues the investigation. There are no updates at this time," stated Marie York-Condon, civilian media relations liaison for Yellowknife RCMP, in an e-mail.
Michael Robert Taylor and Rena Violet Helen McKay, described by police as being in their late 20s or early 30s, both made brief court appearances in Yellowknife yesterday morning.
They face a long list of firearm and drug charges. Taylor is to be back in court March 21, possibly for a bail hearing. McKay, who was also held in custody, is to appear in court again tomorrow.
This latest theft is the first theft of firearms reported by RCMP in the city in almost two years. In March 2015, a Glock handgun and an AR-15 assault rifle were stolen from a residence in Range Lake along with 2,000 rounds of ammunition. Just over a month later, the stolen handgun was used to shoot a man outside the Fraser Arms apartment buildings.
In September 2013, at least eight firearms were taken during a break-in at a home-based gunsmith shop. RCMP said at the time that handguns, shotguns and rifles were taken from MMO Tactical Gunsmithing on Forrest Park. They added the owner had the proper permit to run the business out of his home.
Yellowknife RCMP had not said by press time whether any of those firearms, other than the Glock used in the shooting, have ever been recovered. They also did not say whether anyone was ever charged in the theft at MMO Tactical Gunsmithing.
Anyone with information on the latest gun theft is asked to contact RCMP in Yellowknife or Hay River or Crime Stoppers.
