Fort St. John man sentenced to jail, probation for theft

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Fort St. John man was sentenced earlier this month in relation to what police called a “fairly elaborate fencing operation.”

Clifford Poole appeared in a Fort St. John courtroom on February 8th for theft under $5,000 and wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

Poole was sentenced to a total of 31 days in jail, a 12-month probation order and $200 in victim surcharges. A victim surcharge goes towards helping victims of a crime.

Fort St. John RCMP had received a report of a male suspect shoplifting from a business in the area of 96th Street and 93rd Avenue on February 4th.

Police attended and found the suspect outside the store with items believed to be stolen.

After a brief foot chase, Poole was arrested and held for court.

Poole was also sentenced for three other counts of theft, breach of release order, breach of undertaking, possession of stolen property and possessing or using a stolen credit card.

According to the RCMP, a call came in on January 27th from a business in the area of 96th Street and 93rd Avenue.

The suspect had previously stolen from the business on January 6th and visited the store again, believed to be actively shoplifting.

Police attended, but by the time they arrived, the suspect had left the premises.

Upon investigation, the RCMP was able to identify the suspect.

On February 1st, frontline officers executed multiple search warrants on the suspect’s residence, where many stolen goods were located and seized.

Over the course of a few days, police processed the almost 650 seized items from the warrants with an estimated value of over $225,000.

The local RCMP is still conducting the full investigation, and charges have not yet been forwarded in this matter.

“This appears to be a fairly elaborate fencing operation,” said Staff Sergeant Scott Watson, acting officer in charge of the Fort St John RCMP detachment.

“The results of this investigation will have a significant impact on the local property crime trade in Fort St John and surrounding area.”

The RCMP continue to investigate and ask anyone with information to contact the local detachment at 250-787-8100. 

To remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers can be contacted at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a tip online at www.northernbccrimestoppers.ca.