Arrest made in theft of wheelchair hoist

File 20-29462

It was a crime which received significant attention in late 2020. On December 15, after gaining access to an underground parkade with an allegedly stolen key fob, thieves made off with a custom-made wheelchair hoist. Owners of several other vehicles in the parkade, on River Road in Delta, also reported thefts from their vehicles on the same date.

The hoist was recovered about a week later in an alley in Surrey, but it had been stripped by thieves, and damaged.

There was outpouring of community support for the owner of the wheelchair hoist, who had planned to use the device to enable him to go fishing.

“Our officers continued to work on the investigation behind the scenes,” said Cris Leykauf, spokesperson for Delta Police. “Delta Police’s Crime Reduction Unit took over the investigation from frontline patrol officers, and followed up a number of leads.”

A suspect was identified and then located in late February. 

“Officers arrested the suspect without incident, and seized a number of items believed to be evidence,” says Leykauf. “They’ve since been in touch with the owner of the wheelchair hoist to inform him of this news, and I understand he was very pleased.”

Police plan to forward a number of charges in this matter to Crown for consideration.