A satellite tracking device has been credited with the recovery of a stolen semi-truck and container full of ATVs.
Police in Delta, Lillooet and Pemberton pooled resources that have resulted in charges being laid against a 39-year-old Surrey man. William Robert Beasley has been charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property over $5,000.
The vehicle went missing early on the morning of Jan. 16 from a trucking company yard in Delta. Upon arrival at work that morning, the vehicle’s owner reported the missing semi to Delta Police.
Utilizing the tracking device installed in the vehicle, the company established that the missing vehicle was travelling south from Lillooet towards the Lower Mainland along the Duffey Lake Road.
The Surrey police department contacted the Lillooet RCMP who were able to locate and recover the container full of stolen ATVs. When the tracking system revealed the semi-truck and trailer were nearing Pemberton, heading south on Highway 99, the Whistler-Pemberton RCMP detachment was dispatched. Officers subsequently arrested Beasley, the driver and lone occupant of the vehicle, without incident. He was taken into custody in Pemberton.
Beasley appeared in North Vancouver Provincial Court on Jan. 17, but was adjourned until Jan. 19 for a show cause hearing. At that time it will be determined if he will be released. Until then, he remains in custody in a Lower Mainland pre-trial facility.
