Theft foiled by local security patrol service
Alberta Canada January 4 2018
A late-night robbery attempt Dec. 21 was foiled thanks to a security company that recently began patrolling the Westlock area.
GW Security owner and operator Ken Krupa said he was patrolling the area in his Jeep around 4 a.m. when he noticed fresh tracks crossing from the Westlock Ford parking lot into the Kubota parking lot.
“It was snowing, so I knew they were fresh,” said Krupa. “This whole scenario only happened because of a security patrol right there, rather than a bunch of cameras and lights which do nothing. You have to have boots on the ground.
“Within minutes, the tracks would have been obliterated. They had a pretty well-orchestrated plan, but we also had a pretty good response.”
He called RCMP who dispatched an officer to investigate. The officer checked out the scene and found evidence of a theft.
Because Krupa had an all-terrain vehicle, he offered to help police track the culprit.
The pair followed the trail to a farmer’s field up Highway 18, with Krupa driving through fields while the officer patrolled the adjoining roads. Eventually, they came to a set of tracks that led them to believe the stolen vehicle, identified as a side-by-side, had been loaded onto a trailer.
Following the tracks, the police officer found the suspect in a truck, who after a brief pursuit found themselves in a dead end and turned around, charging the police vehicle head-on. For public safety reasons, police called off the pursuit.
However, police did find the stolen items, including the side-by-side and the trailer itself, which was also stolen.
A few hours later, policed received a tip from the Sunny Bend Hutterite Colony about a truck in the middle of a field with a man sleeping in it.
Police investigated and found the driver was one of the suspects in the incident. He was arrested and charged.
Michael Patterson, of Wainwright, is charged with breaking and entering, possession of breaking and entering instruments, possession of stolen property, flight from police, dangerous driving and breach of probation.
A court date has not yet been set.
Noting police were looking for a second suspect in relation to the charges, Westlock RCMP Cpl. Filipe Vicente said having the security patrol on the road was the only reason the crime was stopped.
“Definitely having the security company out there monitoring the businesses was a good start for the community,” he said.
“Without them we would have not found out about this for many hours, so it was of great assistance.”
