Calgary police have charged a 29-year-old man after three poppy boxes were stolen last week.
In a release Tuesday, police said they were called to a gas station in the 1800 block of Uxbridge Drive N.W. after the staff noticed a Poppy Fund donation box was missing.
Officers on scene were told another poppy box had been stolen from a business nearby.
Investigators were able to get a suspect description from CCTV footage and shared that widely.
According to the release, another poppy box theft was reported at a gas station in the 6400 block of Centre Street N. a few hours later. It was believed the description of the suspect was similar to the one police had from earlier.
Police said witnesses told them the suspect had left on a transit bus, and officers, as well as Calgary Transit, located and stopped the bus with the suspect on board.
Jesse Rodichuk, 29, of Calgary has been charged with three counts of theft under $5,000.
Police report there were 27 poppy box thefts between Friday Oct. 27, 2017, and Sunday Nov. 12, 2017, with charges laid in five of these incidents.
In 2016, there were also 27 poppy boxes stolen with charges laid in three incidents.
Anyone with information on any poppy box thefts is asked to call Calgary police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers.