A 38-year-old Dauphin man is in custody and facing 25 charges after RCMP in Virden and Dauphin effectively linked him to several break and enters in the province.
On May 2, 2016, a break and enter resulted in the theft of firearms in the Dauphin area. A total of 13 firearms were taken along with a safe, ammunition and holsters. The following day, a break and enter in the Ashern area resulted in the theft of a 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle. On July 14, 2016, a break and enter in the Virden area resulted in the theft of firearms and cash. In this incident, a total of three firearms, a sizeable amount of cash, gold and silver coins were stolen.
Officers conducted a thorough investigation and were able to link all the crimes and charge Jayson McDougall on August 15, 2016. Search warrants were executed which resulted in several more stolen firearms and property to be recovered. The charges and stolen property seized have solved five break, enter and theft files in Western Manitoba. The total value of property recovered is approximately $25,000.
“Property crimes and thefts are an ongoing concern in the West District and a priority for our officers,” said Superintendent Paulette Freill, RCMP West District Commander. “I am extremely pleased that our officers were able to link and close these files, get guns out of the hands of criminals and return a substantial amount of stolen property back to their rightful owners.”
As a result of the excellent work and collaboration between the members in the West District and the Major Crime Unit, McDougall is facing 25 charges, incuding trafficking firearms, possessing break-in instruments, unsafe storage of firearms, unauthorized possession of firearms, possession of property obtained by crime and possession of weapons obtained by crime.
