Four Arran-Elderslie Residents Charged After OPP Search Turns Up Firearm, Vehicles
The OPP announced the July 28 search 13 days after it happened. Four people face identical firearm and stolen-property charges, none proven in court.
Four Arran-Elderslie residents face firearm, drug and stolen-property charges after the Ontario Provincial Police executed a search warrant at a Concession 4 address on July 28.
The OPP announced the charges on August 10, 13 days after the search. The release does not say why.
Officers seized suspected methamphetamine, a firearm and ammunition, multiple vehicles, and what the OPP describe as offence-related property including phones and construction equipment.
Police estimate the street value of the suspected controlled substances at $1,940 and the value of the property seized at $90,500. The release does not say how many vehicles were seized or whether police have matched any of the recovered property to reported thefts.
The OPP say the investigation began with the South Bruce detachment’s Community Street Crimes Unit and its Offender Management and Apprehension Program. Investigators were led to the Arran-Elderslie address, police say.
The charges
Joseph McNichol, 51, Birgit Rapelje, 57, Justin Grove, 34, and Julia Sunnerton, 36, all of Arran-Elderslie, each face the same set of charges under the Criminal Code:
possession of a prohibited device or ammunition
unauthorized possession of a firearm
possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 — five counts
possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000
Each also faces one count of possession of a Schedule I substance — methamphetamine — under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
McNichol faces three additional counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a prohibition order. That charge presupposes a court order already in place. Police did not say when the order was imposed or by which court.
The release does not say how the same firearm and property charges came to be laid against four separate people, or on what basis investigators allege each of them possessed the seized items.
None of the charges has been tested in court.
The OPP say all four were arrested, held for a bail hearing and remanded into custody. The release does not give the dates of those hearings or say when the four are next scheduled to appear.
Officers from the South Bruce OPP, Grey-Bruce and Wellington County OPP Community Street Crimes units, South Bruce OPP OMAP, provincial Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) officers, the West Region and Central Region tactics and rescue units, the West Region Emergency Response Team and the West Region OPP canine unit assisted, police say.
Police say the investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact South Bruce OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or 519-881-3130.
Related:
