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.
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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