Bait cars assist in arrest of three suspects in Kamloops

Three Kamloops men have been charged after the Kamloops RCMP and a provincial auto crime team deployed bait cars to catch alleged thieves.

From Oct. 17 to 21, the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team joined the Kamloops RCMP Crime Reduction Unit to target those attempting to steal cars. During that week, the crime team deployed eight members with special equipment, including bait cars, to catch the suspects.

On Oct. 18, around 7 a.m., police received a report of a stolen blue F-350 truck from the 900 block of Singh Street. A few hours later, an officer spotted the truck on the 200 block of Victoria Street and two suspects were arrested and charged.

Evan Leigh Davis, 27, and Douglas Laurence Jackson, 37, both of Kamloops, are charged with one count each of possession of stolen property exceeding $5,000 in value. Davis is also charged with prohibited driving, according to the RCMP.

The RCMP also responded to a reported vehicle theft and arrested a suspect, Oct. 20.

Kamloops resident John Robert Beauchemin, 36, is charged with one count of theft of motor vehicle and one count of prohibited driving.

“Because we’re unfortunately running very high on the number of vehicles stolen from Kamloops, IMPACT reached out to see if we would be interested in this joint partnership,” said Sgt. Jason Pole, with the Kamloops RCMP, in a press release. “Having a team like that in town to focus on one task – stolen vehicles – inevitably get results because they can really concentrate without the distraction of all the requirements placed on frontline police officers.”

From October 2019 to October 2020, Kamloops received approximately 329 stolen vehicle reports, 380 for the same time period in 2021 and 496 from October 2021 to October 2022.

The Kamloops RCMP recently reinstated its crime reduction unit following a review of resources and detachment priorities, specifically around prolific offenders and property crimes, according to the RCMP.

Anyone who witnesses anything they believe to be suspicious or has information related to crime, is asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP Detachment at 250-828-3000.

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