BC tow truck driver helps Alberta RCMP nab two men on a crime spree

Grande Prairie, Alberta — April 13, 2015 — Two Grande Prairie men suspected of a crystal meth-induced crime spree are now in police custody, thanks in part to a BC-based tow truck operator. The Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune reports Joseph Semple, 33, and Michael Ginter, 29, allegedly stole a truck in Grande Prairie before hitting the road and robbing properties in Swan City and the Highway 2 and Beaverlodge area late last month. Dawson Creek RCMP Sgt. Ed Reinink told the Herald-Tribune that his detachment was tipped off on March 31 by Alberta police, warning that the duo were en route to the Dawson Creek area — where they are believed to have walked away with over $200,000 worth of property after breaking into numerous businesses, homes and vehicles. “We received calls throughout the night of thefts in progress and we’d go over to the scene and they’d have been scared off,” Reinink said in the report. The spree came to an end when a tow truck driver hauled one of the stolen vehicles from a Tim Hortons parking lot, with one of the the men asleep inside. Reinink says that when the tow truck operator reached the tow yard, he noticed another parked vehicle with yet another passed out man inside — which turned out to be the second suspect. Both Semple and Ginter appeared to be under the influence of crystal meth at the time of arrest. The men remain in custody, awaiting charges while RCMP continue their investigation.