Woman facing 45 charges held, then released
26-year-old was on the lam for two weeks after arrest in Saanich stolen-goods raid
A 26-year-old Saanich woman on the lam for two weeks and facing charges in connection with a massive haul of stolen goods has been apprehended by Vancouver police.
Zoe Jacqueline Thompson was arrested in October, then released on a promise to appear in court on Nov. 17. She did not show up for her court appearance and a B.C.wide arrest warrant was issued.
She was arrested again Wednesday by Vancouver officers who spotted her getting into a cab.
“They’re very good at their job,” Saanich Staff Sgt. Steve Eassie said.
The next day, Thompson was released, this time with 18 restrictions, including that she not pos- sess tools or a weapon or live with people possessing weapons, that she maintain a curfew from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m., and that she not possess ID not belonging to her.
Thompson, who does not have a criminal record, is scheduled to appear in Victoria provincial court on Monday.
The charges against Thompson and her partner, Darren George Chernoff, stem from what might be the biggest haul of stolen goods in Saanich police history.
The pair face 90 charges, including 17 apiece for possession of stolen property valued under $5,000, two counts each for stolen property over $5,000 and 19 counts each for dealing with an identity document belonging to other people without lawful excuse.
Chernoff, 45, was remanded in custody at the Wilkinson Road Jail, where he remains.
Eassie said the case began in October, when two men were arrested by Oceanside RCMP.
He said the men, who were found in possession of a large amount of stolen property, as well as drugs and weapons, were linked by a crime analyst to crimes in Saanich. The analyst determined that one of the men likely had a female accomplice.
Police found through surveillance video and other evidence that the woman appeared to be involved in the theft of a freestanding automatic teller machine in Saanich.
The ATM was taken from a commercial location in 4300 block of Interurban Road in late July, Eassie said. The machine contained a “substantial amount of cash” and it has not been recovered, he said.
Thompson was arrested on Oct. 7 and released on a promise to appear in court.
The next day, officers searched the Saanich residence where the man and woman were believed to be living. They found more than $100,000 worth of suspected stolen property, including a vehicle, several licence plates and tools.
Dozens of sets of stolen financial documents dating back to February 2014 were also found. Eassie said they had a “devastating” potential for future crimes.
Most of the identified crimes linked to the goods occurred on the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, police said, stretching as far east as Nelson and north to Parksville.
Police have been working to get items back to their owners and photos of items have been posted to saanichpolice.ca.
“What I can say is we have had quite a number of people calling in with the hope that we have more property,” Eassie said.