Auto Crime Month Produces Results

Thursday, April 21, 2011 05:12 PM

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Days after the kick off to Auto Crime Enforcement Month, when Solicitor General and MLA for Prince George-Valemount Shirley Bond released 2010 auto crime statistics, police have apprehended two of B.C.'s
top 10 most wanted auto thieves.

The first of the arrests from the province's top 10 auto thieves list came less than 24 hours after the mug shots were released last week, and was the result of an anonymous tip.

Ridge Meadows RCMP arrested 26-year-old Mathew Colin Wolfe at his parents' home without incident. Wolfe allegedly registered stolen trailers and then listed them for sale on Craigslist. He faces a total of 36 related charges.

Also as a result of an anonymous tip, Surrey RCMP arrested 26-year-old Christopher Henry Horkey at a residence in Surrey without incident. His last arrest involved the theft of a 2006 Jaguar.

A third individual from the province's top 10 most-wanted auto thieves list was apprehended on Tuesday by members of the Surrey RCMP's Auto Crime Target Team. Officers arrested Mark Forrest from the list, and his associate Desiree Belisle, after a couple was seen disassembling and trying to sell parts from an older model Honda Accord which was reported stolen out of White Rock.

Quick Facts:
* In Prince George, auto theft decreased 58 per cent and vehicle break-ins decreased 77 per cent since 2003.
* Vehicle theft went down 11 per cent in Prince George between 2009 and 2010, although theft from vehicles went up 18 per cent during that same period.
* The province has experienced a 65 per cent reduction in auto thefts and a 61 per cent drop in thefts from vehicles since 2003.
* A bait trailer was unveiled as one of the newest tools in the bait car program that now includes other recreation vehicles like motorcycles, snowmobiles and personal watercraft, as well as ATVs.
* In addition to bait vehicles, police are also using advanced technology - like the automated licence plate recognition program that can scan 3,000 plates per hour - to help locate stolen vehicles and unlicensed drivers on the road.