Loaded Firearms and Fentanyl Seized in Hanover; Two Owen Sound Men Among Those Charged
Hanover Police have arrested four armed suspects including two Owen Sound men linked to Hamilton break-ins seized guns, drugs, and stolen property.
Hanover police arrested four men and seized several firearms, drugs, and stolen property after a high-risk vehicle stop early Saturday morning.
Around 2 a.m. on October 5, officers responded to a report of prowlers at a home on 14th Avenue. Police say several men were in the backyard carrying weapons but did not enter the residence. The group fled just before officers arrived.
A short time later, officers spotted the suspect vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. When the driver failed to pull over, police boxed the car in with cruisers and arrested the occupants at gunpoint.
Inside the vehicle, officers found two loaded sawed-off shotguns, a loaded full-length shotgun, and a folding .22-calibre “Life Card” pistol — a single-shot firearm that police note was never legally sold in Canada.
They also seized suspected fentanyl valued at more than $5,500, about $1,100 worth of suspected cocaine, over $500 in cash, a prohibited knife, drug trafficking equipment, and stolen property linked to Hamilton break-ins.
Police charged three men following the stop:
Joseph Dyck, 24, of Kitchener, faces 17 charges including flight from police, possession of stolen property, drug trafficking, and multiple firearms offences.
William Vrooman, 18, of South Bruce Peninsula, and Jan Degelder, 18, of Owen Sound, each face 14 similar charges.
All three were remanded in custody following bail hearings.
On Sunday, October 6, police in Owen Sound arrested a fourth suspect, Brandon Bolton, 31, who investigators believe fled the vehicle before the initial arrests.
Bolton faces 34 charges, including conspiracy to commit kidnapping, criminal harassment, firearms and drug trafficking, and possession of weapons and stolen property. He was returned to Hanover and remanded in custody.
Investigators believe the group had gone to the residence searching for a former girlfriend of one of the suspects, intending to remove her from the home. Police say the woman had been hiding after learning the men were looking for her in the days before the incident.
Hanover Police are also seeking to identify another person believed to have provided information about the woman’s location and vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hanover Police Service at 519-364-2411 or Crime Stoppers of Grey Bruce at 1-800-222-TIPS.
The suspect vehicle, a blue four-door Kia Forte sedan, was seized under the Highway Traffic Act and will remain impounded pending court proceedings. Police say it’s one of several vehicle seizures made this year.