Prolific offender from Alberta apprehended in Kelowna

Kelowna RCMP have arrested a known prolific offender from Alberta.

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, Kelowna RCMP’s Target Team located a vehicle suspected of recent criminal activity.

The vehicle, a black Ford F150, was pulling a travel trailer that was allegedly stolen from a Kelowna residence during the night of Sept. 15.

Police surveyed the pickup truck until it stopped at a West Kelowna commercial location where the driver and lone occupant was taken into custody without incident and identified as Gregory Deviat of Cochrane, Alberta.

The RCMP say Deviat is well know to police, as he prompted a recent ‘shelter in place’ warning on Sept. 11, 2023, in the Bow Ridge community.

After apprehending Deviat, Mounties determined the pickup truck had been stolen from Alberta and that there were numerous warrants and charges pending out of Alberta against Deviat, who was supposed to be on 24-hour house arrest in Cochrane.

The matter remained under investigation as of Tuesday, Sept. 26, as a number of items located within the stolen trailer were also believed to be associated with recent local property thefts.

“This individual already has some significant charges before the courts, not to mention the several warrants out of Alberta. His current court conditions did not deter him from coming to Kelowna where he finds himself in custody with new charges” Cpl. Guillaume Tanguay of the Kelowna Target Team said.

“The Proactive Enforcement teams remain vigilant and are strategically targeting those individuals responsible for our community’s property crimes.”

The police say efforts to return Deviat to Alberta on the out of province warrants were unsuccessful.

As of Tuesday he remained in custody in Kelowna and was scheduled to appear in court via video on Sept. 28.