Weekly crime report: man charged for gun theft

Senior Sergeant Heath Soutar said police had recovered the decommissioned .303 calibre Lee-Enfield rifle that had been stolen from the club on January 14. The rifle had been broken.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said police had executed a search warrant on Monday, March 5 and as a result, had charged a 27-year-old Collie man with receiving stolen property.

He said police had received a large number of tips from the community about the break-in and the arrest came as a result of some of the information received.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said investigations into the break-in were still ongoing and police were waiting on DNA results from the rifle.

Police also charged a young male with assault occasioning bodily harm in relation to an incident that occurred in Soldiers Park on February 6, where a man was assaulted after confronting a group of youths who had allegedly thrown a rock at his car.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said the juvenile had been remanded in custody and was expected to appear in Bunbury court on March 6.

“[The arrest] was the result of some good investigative work by our officers,” he said.

Police are investigating a string of burglaries that have targetted properties along Wallsend Street over the last week.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said four different properties on the street had been broken into.

Sometime between February 27 and 28, tools and a cash tin were stolen from a vacant property after the offender gained entry through a bathroom window.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said another house had been targetted at 5.30am on March 1. He said neighbours had heard glass breaking and found the kitchen window had been smashed, however it was not clear if anything had been taken.

Another property on Wallsend Street had its shed broken into between February 25 and March 2. Senior Sergeant Soutar said the offender had smashed a hole in the wall of the shed and taken a television and a laptop.

Jewelry, a television, alcohol and food were also taken from a fourth house on Wallsend Street sometime between February 22 and March 2.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said the offender had also entered the property through a smashed window in the kitchen.

There were a couple of other vacant properties burgled as well, with a table and chairs stolen from a house on Benwell Place sometime between February 25 and 28.

A house on Crampton Street was also broken into and damaged, while a fridge, generator and drills were stolen from a shed at a property on Deakin Street.

Police have also released CCTV footage of a man they believe to be responsible for the theft of a handbag from the Under the Sun store sometime after 1pm on March 3.

Police are also looking for information relating to the theft of a dog from a property on Hunter Street.

The dog’s owner Brayden Miller said a neighbour had seen a car at the property between 8.30pm and 9pm on Sunday, March 4. When Mr Miller returned home later that night, he found the dog was missing.

Police are also looking for information about the theft of a red Longjia moped from Riverview Residence between February 28 and March 1.

Police charged a 45-year-old man with no authority to drive and driving an unlicenced vehicle after a crash on Mornington Road at 1.30am on March 3.

Senior Sergeant Soutar said there were three people in the car, with one person unrestrained at the time of the crash.

He said the man was taken to the Collie Hospital, but it was lucky the result wasn’t worse.

He also said the driver of the vehicle could be facing further charges once police receive the results from a blood analysis.

Finally, police are calling for witnesses who saw an incident between a male and a group of juveniles at the water park on Forrest Street sometime between 1pm and 3pm on Saturday, January 27.

Senior Sergeant Soutar has asked that anyone who saw the incident contact police.

Anyone with information about any crime should contact Collie Police on 9734 6333 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.