Police recover stolen Dover vehicle, arrest suspects in Canton
CANTON – (WJER) (December 5, 2023) – Dover and Canton police teamed up to recover a stolen pickup truck and arrest four suspects after a tense confrontation in Canton yesterday afternoon.
According to police reports, the Ford F-150 had been reported stolen from a resident’s driveway on West 21st Street in Dover Monday morning. Dover police tracked it down to residence in Canton and called the police there for help.
Canton police stopped the vehicle in a residential neighborhood. One suspect, a 17-year-old Canton male, fled on foot. He was soon found hiding in a garage between a vehicle and bicycles covered by a piece of cardboard. After he was arrested, police found a loaded firearm on the garage floor.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old driver refused to open the pickup truck’s door, so an officer broke the window with his baton. Police say they found meth in the driver’s pocket.
In all, police arrested four people who were in the vehicle: the 40-year-old female driver from Canton, the 17-year-old Canton male, a 17-year-old Canton female, and an 18-year-old Canton male. Police charged the adult woman with receiving stolen property, obstructing justice, endangering children, and possession of drugs.
The teen who fled faces six charges and was booked on previous felony warrants. The charges include: complicity to commit stolen property, obstructing official business, breaking and entering, criminal damaging, having weapons under disability, and carrying concealed weapons.
Police charged the other two teens with complicity.
Other car theft cases solved?
Dover police say they have identified suspects in several recent vehicle thefts and recovered most of the stolen vehicles. Detective Capt. Jason Peters only provided a few details as the investigation is ongoing and charges haven’t been filed yet.
“We have been investigating the recent thefts in the last month of vehicles taken from Dover. All the vehicles have been recovered in the Canton and Stark County area. We have developed some suspects and we do hope to obtain charges in the near future. I can’t release any more details than that at this time.”
While he didn’t identify the suspects, the statement comes two days after the arrests in Canton.