An alert Millarville resident has helped the RCMP recover a small fleet of stolen vehicles. Turner Valley RCMP received a call on Wednesday at approximately 8:30 a.m. from a Millarville area resident concerning a male who was acting suspicious; entering onto rural properties and looking into windows. Officers responded and saw the suspect not far from the reported location. Upon seeing police, the man fled on foot but was apprehended a short time later. The suspect was found to be in possession of an ignition key for a GMC vehicle when he was arrested. The vehicle the key belonged to was located on a nearby property and determined to be stolen. Further investigation revealed that the man had broken into a shed and stole a battery charger from another area property. In total, four stolen trucks, a stolen camper, snowmobile, a tandem dump trailer and a flatbed-utility trailer were recovered by the RCMP during the investigation. “This case was a great example of citizens and police working together,” said Staff Sgt. Dwayne Helgeson, Turner Valley RCMP detachment commander in a prepared statement. “By being alert and reporting suspicious activity, the community helped us to not only stop this person from committing more crimes, but also to recover stolen property.” At the time of his arrest, the suspect was on a recent release from custody, and was scheduled to begin court imposed intermittent jail sentencing on December 19th for similar offences. Michael Andrew Zielinski, 44, was charged with breaking and entering as well as possession of stolen property. He is in custody and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Jan. 5 in Turner Valley provincial court.
