A Ponoka County man is facing several new charges following a search conducted earlier this month.
Bradley James Mulder, 44, was arrested around 1:30 p.m. on May 16 near his residence along Township 421A west of Leedale in a truck that had been reported stolen in Red Deer on May 10. He has been charged with five counts of possession of property and one count of possession of property obtained by crime.
Mulder was a Red Deer-based lawyer, until his licence was suspended by the Law Society of Alberta last October. He is also currently awaiting trial in September on charges of possession of counterfeit currency and possession of a restricted weapon.
The situation began May 4 when Rimbey RCMP officers went to the residence looking to serve Mulder with outstanding warrants. Instead of finding him, officers witnessed two stolen vehicles in plain view on the property.
That prompted calling in the Priority Crimes Task Force — which consists of members from Rimbey, Ponoka, Blackfalds, Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer RCMP plus the Lacombe Police Service — to help obtain and execute a search warrant. That search was done May 5 and resulted in the recovery of a 2017 Subaru reported stolen in Ponoka April 25, a 2006 Big Tex flat deck reported stolen in Consort April 24 plus a 2005 Caterpillar 420D backhoe stolen from Consort April 27 and two ATV quads reported stolen in Rimbey May 2.
Mulder is scheduled to appear in court in Rimbey on Aug. 4 on these six charges in addition to the two outstanding warrants.
“The stolen vehicles we recovered represent criminal activity that impacted at least four communities,” stated Rimbey RCMP Sgt. Kurtis Pillipow, noting the Priority Crimes Task Force is continuing its investigation into the situation.
“Rimbey RCMP are committed to working with our Priority Crimes Task Force partners to reduce the impact of property crimes and stem that flow of stolen property across our jurisdictions.”