Date of Release: August 15th, 2019
Authority for release: Chief Christopher Knoll
Release: Immediate
In July of 2019, members of the West Grey Police Service and Hanover Police Service entered into an investigation involving the theft and use of stolen credit cards. This joint investigation has resulted in the arrest of a 33-year-old male after a string of thefts and other criminal acts that began on Tuesday, August 13th, 2019, with West Grey Police officers being dispatched to the theft of a 2014 Ford Escape from a Concession 2 WGR residence.
Later that same day, the stolen Ford Escape was located in a field off Concession 2 completely burnt out. In around this time, Police were contacted by another Concession 2 WGR homeowner who reported that his parked vehicles had been entered overnight and thieves had stolen three metal detectors. A white SUV was identified as a vehicle of interest in this theft.
Subsequently, on Tuesday evening a white Cadillac Escalade matching the description of the suspect vehicle used in the metal detector theft was spotted by West Grey officers. Police attempted a traffic stop by activating their emergency lights and siren but the Escalade wouldn’t pull over and instead accelerated away at a high rate of speed. Due to public safety concerns, officers did not engage in a pursuit and the SUV was last seen heading southbound on Hwy 6 towards Mount Forest.
Then during the evening of August 13th, West Grey Police received another complaint about the theft of a pickup truck, a white Chevrolet Silverado, also from a WGR resident. By coincidence, the next morning, August 14th, the owner spotted their stolen Silverado being driven on Cty Rd 4 towards Hanover and called 911. West Grey officers spotted the stolen truck minutes later southbound on Cty Rd 28 south of the Hanover Drive-In. When Police attempted to stop the pickup it sped off. Officers pursued the stolen truck for a few kilometers but terminated the pursuit due to public safety concerns. It was last seen northbound on Cty Rd 10 heading into Hanover.
Minutes later, Hanover Police were advised of a motor vehicle collision involving the white Chevrolet Silverado that had just occurred on 2nd Street near 12th Avenue in Hanover. The suspect truck sped away from the collision but not before witnesses had made observations of the licence plate and the driver. The contents of the box of this pickup had spilled out onto the roadway when the collision occurred and one of the items turned out to be a metal gun safe that was found to contain 12 rifles and 1 shotgun. These weapons and the safe were later determined to have been stolen during a break-in at a Varney-area residence the night before.
Not long after the fail-to-remain collision, Hanover officers spotted a male matching the description of the fail-to-remain driver walking along 11th Street near 10th Avenue. This man was known to Police and was arrested without incident.
Follow-up investigations conducted by Hanover and West Grey officers resulted in the discovery of an abandoned white Cadillac Escalade SUV in a bush area off of Concession 2 NDR – it had been reported stolen to Grey County OPP from the Shallow Lake area on August 10th. This SUV matched the suspect vehicle that had sped away the night before on Hwy 6 and Police recovered two of the three stolen metal detectors from inside of it. Police also located the stolen Chevrolet Silverado fail-to-remain truck abandoned in a parking lot in the 600 block of 8th Street.
In addition, the arrested man was found to possess suspected stolen credit cards and other property not owned by him. This male was also wanted by Hanover Police on multiple charges related to the use of a stolen credit card at area businesses in July and for failing to appear in Walkerton Court on multiple criminal charges related to incidents earlier this year that he was out on bail for.
Accused: David MALOTT (age 33), Kitchener, Ontario, was held for a bail hearing in Walkerton and has been remanded into custody. He now faces a total of 54 criminal charges for incidents occurring in West Grey and Hanover that include:
Illegal Possession of Firearms (multiple counts)
Possession of Stolen Firearms (multiple counts)
Illegal use of a Credit Card (multiple counts)
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5000 (multiple counts)
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000 (multiple counts)
Theft of a Motor Vehicle over $5000 (multiple counts)
Flight from Peace Officer (multiple counts)
Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle (multiple counts)
Break & Enter a Place and Steal a Firearm
Arson – Damage to Property
Anyone who may have observed the suspect vehicles or who has other information in relation to this case is asked to contact the West Grey Police Service at 519-371-6911 or the Hanover Police Service at 519-364-2411 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS should you wish to remain anonymous.
Police would also like to remind residents to lock and secure their motor vehicles when parked and unattended no matter where that may be.
Media Inquiries:
Cst. Cory Trainor
Media Relations Officer
West Grey Police Service
519-369-3046