A Lethbridge man and woman have been charged after a chase led police to a bike chop shop.
John Carl Michael Wipf, 37, and Jade Tiffany Ann Little, 29, both of Lethbridge, are facing multiple property and drug charges.
At about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, a downtown bike patrol officer noticed a man who was known to Lethbridge police. The man tried to get away from the officer in a taxi but the driver refused to move so he ran.
He ran through a downtown lounge and then down an alley, before scaling a fire escape to enter the third floor of the Coalbanks Inn. According to police, the man then broke into an occupied unit, ran through it and went into a suite nextdoor.
Police confronted the man at the door of that suite, where they informed him he was under arrest for break and enter.
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When the man opened the door, police also found and arrested a second man and the female resident of the apartment on outstanding warrants. At the time of the arrests, police could see several high-end bicycles and bike parts, as well as many cell phones, LPS said.
Following the incident, a search warrant was obtained and police seized from the apartment:
- Two high-end bicycles, including one that had been reported missing in 2017
- Four bike frames with altered serial numbers
- Nine rims/tires
- Several bike forks and other bike components
- More than 50 cell phones that had been damaged/altered to remove batteries
- A stolen wallet
- Identity documents
- Narcotics and needles filled with methamphetamine solution
Some of the stolen property was hidden in a false ceiling in the apartment, police said.
Wipf has been charged with housebreaking and committing mischief, possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession a stolen credit card, three counts of possession of stolen identity documents, possession of a controlled substance and detrimental conduct in a licensed premises.
He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court June 12.
Little has been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of a stolen credit card, three counts of possession of stolen identity documents, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Police say she is still in custody awaiting a release hearing.
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