WESTLOCK - The suspect in a Westlock identity theft case and several other break and enters in four different jurisdictions was arrested at the end of November.
Gunther Schwarten, 34, is one of three people connected to over 15 break and enters in Edmonton and Westlock, Parkland and Sturgeon Counties.
Schwarten allegedly used a Westlock person’s identification for fraudulent transactions both online and in person between July 3 and Aug. 7, police say.
He’ll appear in Westlock Provincial Court Jan. 13, 2021 for one charge of identity theft and one of identity fraud and in St. Albert Provincial Court Jan. 11, 2021 for other charges related to the break and enters.
Clinton Galliford, 40, Krystal Gregoire, 32, and Schwarten face 36 Criminal Code charges total. Galliford and Gregoire are also set to appear in the St. Albert courtroom in January.
Police say some of the items that were stolen in one out of the 15 break and enters were found in Westlock County. The theft was reported Oct. 23 in Sturgeon County and RCMP recovered a trailer, a slip truck, welder and gun safe on Township Road 572 the next day.
All three were arrested in Calahoo Nov. 27 by the St. Albert Crime Reduction Unit, where police found stolen firearms, power equipment, a stolen truck and all-terrain vehicles with tampered and removed VIN numbers.
Police say all three are very well known to them in various jurisdictions.
Gregoire also has one charge of possession of controlled substances and another for dangerous operation of a vehicle against her in the Westlock court, but they are unrelated to the recent arrest.
