Three people have been charged after stolen tools were found

Items seized from home in Sterling-Rodden. January 13, 2022 (Photo: Ontario Provincial Police)

Three people have been charged following the execution of a warrant that recovered approximately $10,000 in stolen tools in Sterling-Rodden.

Members of the Hastings Central Unit and the Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) of the Ontario Provincial Police executed a warrant at a home on Woods Drive on January 12th.

The OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT) and the OPP Canine Unit assisted with the search warrant.

Police say the warrant is part of an ongoing investigation in which both Quinte West OPP and Northumberland OPP have responded to similar calls involving the theft of power tools from closed trailers at construction sites.

David Mantifel, 32, of Stirling-Rodden, is charged with:

• Failure to comply with release order – Penal Code (PC) 145(5)(a) – two counts
• Theft over $5,000 – CC 334(a) – three counts
• Theft under $5000 – CC 334(b)
• Possession of property obtained by crime – CC 354(1)(a)
• Larceny under $5,000 – CC 430(4) – five counts
• Driving while suspended – Road Traffic Act (HTA) 53(1)
• Driving a motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol – Liquor License Act (LLA) 42(1)(a)
• Have care or control of a vehicle or boat with readily available cannabis – Cannabis Control Act (CCA) 12(1)

Chantel Barnsley, 33, of Stirling-Rodden, is charged with:

• Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000 – CC 354(1)(a)
• Resist Peace Officer – CC 129(a)
• Permitting an unlicensed person to drive a motor vehicle – HTA 32(10)

Samuel Koch, 42, of Tweed, has been charged with:

• Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000 – CC 354(1)(a)
• Failure to comply with probation – CC 733.1(1) – two counts

The accused were held for a bail hearing on January 16 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville.

This seizure follows a similar incident in December 2022, when approximately $70,000 worth of tools were recovered from the same location.

Central Hastings is warning contractors that leaving closed trailers on the job can put them at risk of becoming a victim of theft.