Kelowna man’s break-and-enter spree ends after stealing $84K Jeep

A Kelowna man who appears to be a prolific offender when it comes to commercial break and enters saw his luck come to an end this week.

Thomas Aaron Udell, 33, was arrested by RCMP officers around 3 pm on Wednesday, one week after he stole an $84,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT from a local dealership on Enterprise Way.

The Jeep was stolen on Wednesday, Jan. 8 and police were able to track down the vehicle at a local hotel the following day.

As they tried to stop Udell and make a potential arrest, he hit a police car with the stolen vehicle and was able to flee the scene.

Officers did, however, locate and man and woman at the hotel who were associated with the suspect, as well as a number of other keys stolen from the dealership.

The man and woman were arrested, but the trail went cold on Udell for a few days.

On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the stolen Jeep was spotted on Enterprise Way and an army of officers responded to the area.

They found the vehicle abandoned in a parking lot on Hardy Street and were able to arrest Udell without incident as he tried to run from officers.

After the arrest, the RCMP located plenty of evidence that connected the 33-year-old to ongoing commercial break and enters around Kelowna.

“This investigation illustrates the response Kelowna RCMP will provide to the community in order to stop an ongoing crime and their devotion to catching suspects involved in criminal offences,” said Cpl. Guillaume Tanguay.

“Our officers put every effort forward to reduce crime in the community and the arrest of this suspect will have a significant impact in the current wave of property crimes in the Kelowna area.”

On Thursday, the BC Proseuction Service approved the following nine charges against Udell, who remains in custody at this time:

• Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000 contrary to Section 355(a) of the Criminal Code
• Possession of property obtained by crime under $5000 contrary to Section 355(b) of the Criminal Code
• Flight from police contrary to Section 320.17 of the Criminal Code
• Assault Peace Officer with a weapon contrary to Section 270.01(1)(a) of the Criminal Code
• Break and enter and commit indictable offence contrary to Section 348(1)(b) of the Criminal Code
• Disguising face with intent to commit offence contrary to Section 351(2) of the Criminal Code
• Wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer contrary to Section 129(a) of the Criminal Code
• Possession of a Controlled Substance contrary to Section 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
• Breach of Undertaking contrary to Section 145(4)(a) of the Criminal Code