On November 16th, at around 11:00 p.m., the Eastern Alberta District General Investigation Section along with Westlock RCMP initiated a pursuit with a male known to have outstanding warrants, the pursuit lasted two hours with the suspect switching vehicles several times and avoiding police capture. In the early afternoon of November 17th at around 12:30 p.m., EADGIS along with the RCMP Emergency Response Team, Hinton GIS, Western Alberta District Intel Coordinator, Westlock, Redwater, and Athabasca RCMP Detachments, arrested the same male pursued the previous night.
33 year old, Daniel Patrick O’Donnell of no fixed address was arrested in Rochester, Alberta after fleeing a property in a stolen vehicle with another male. ERT initiated a pursuit; the stolen vehicle was disabled and the two men were taken into custody. The other male occupant of the stolen vehicle was 33 year old, Lorne Kyle Jack Harris of Barrhead, Alberta. A sawed off prohibited shot gun and numerous rounds of ammunition were found in a search of the vehicle.
Officers also arrested an adult female at the property, 35 year old female, Charlie Louise Bronson from Athabasca, Alberta. She was arrested with an outstanding warrant out of the Barrhead RCMP Detachment.
O’Donnell was identified as a suspect in multiple investigations around the province spanning from September 2019 to November 17, 2020. He is alleged to have committed many crimes resulting in significant property damage in the towns of Legal, Slave Lake, Swan Hills, Whitecourt, Edson, Athabasca, Hinton, Barrhead and the hamlets of Niton Junction and Grand Cache. The ATM thefts were in gas stations, a credit union and a lounge.
Harris was also identified as a suspect in multiple ATM thefts around the province of Alberta spanning from October 15, 2019 to November 21, 2019. Harris has allegedly committed a number of crimes also resulting in significant property damage to gas stations and a lounge in the towns of Fox Creek, Swan Hills, Whitecourt, Edson, and High Prairie.
O’Donnell is facing 60 charges from numerous RCMP detachments across Alberta. Some of the charges are:
- Participation in a criminal organization (x11)
- Break and enter/theft (x12)
- Disguise with intent (x10)
- Flight from police (x5)
- Possession of stolen property (x7)
Harris is facing 25 charges from numerous RCMP detachments across Alberta. Some of the charges include:
- Participation in a criminal organization (x5)
- Break and enter/theft (x5)
- Disguise with intent (x4)
- Possession of property obtained by crime (x5)
- Flight from police
Bronson is facing four charges relating to an ATM theft that occurred in High Prairie on Nov. 21, 2019. The charges include:
- Participation in a criminal organization
- Break and enter/theft
- Disguise with intent
- Possession of property obtained by crime
The three accused have been remanded into custody after judicial hearings with multiple court dates in various jurisdictions where the crimes took place. During the crime spree, the amount of money stolen from eight separate ATM thefts resulted in over $100,000. The damages to properties from the thefts are estimated over $500,000.
EADGIS is still investigating the multiple ATM thefts in multiple communities across Alberta and are asking anyone with information to come forward by calling 780-645-8870. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app.
Pictures below supplied by RCMP.
-Erika Rolling, Trending 55 Newsroom
