Bail denied for Alberta woman accused of driving stolen vehicle laden with goods obtained by crime

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This article was published 24/10/2023 (1098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An Alberta woman who was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle filled with stolen goods through Brandon will remain behind bars after a judge denied her bail in court on Monday.

Desiree Leanne Altmiks, 37, made an unsuccessful bid for bail after being picked up by Brandon police last Thursday. She is facing charges of possessing a stolen vehicle, possessing property obtained by crime, and public mischief for allegedly giving police a false identity.

Crown attorney Caroline Lacey read the evidence for the charges against Altmiks in court. The charges against Altmiks have not been proven in court and she remains innocent until proven guilty.

In the afternoon of Oct. 19, Sirius XM, a satellite radio company, informed police that a stolen vehicle was travelling down the 1900 block of Richmond Avenue. The vehicle was originally reported stolen from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Leduc, Alta. Police located the vehicle, confirmed that the licence plate matched the stolen vehicle and pulled the vehicle over.

A woman exited the vehicle and gave police an Alberta driver’s licence. During a search after her arrest, police found numerous driver’s licences, including one which was reported stolen in August.

Police then learned that the woman they arrested was not the woman whose driver’s licence they were given. When they ran the woman’s real name through a records search, they found that the woman has multiple warrants from Alberta for fraud and failing to comply with recognizance and probation orders.

A police search of the truck revealed numerous expensive items, including drones, scooters, and Apple laptops that had been purchased with a credit card in the same name as the driver’s licence that the woman allegedly falsely provided to police.

Police also found evidence of forgery in the truck, including a laminating machine, Exacto knives, a paper cutter, and card sleeves. Several uncut sheets of paper with Indian status cards printed on them, with a photo of an Indigenous man and several different names, were also found in the truck.

The police investigation also found that the woman whose name was on the initial driver’s licence given to police, as well as the credit card used to purchase the recovered goods, had filed an identity theft complaint with the Edmonton Police Service.

Lacey said that Altmiks has a lengthy criminal record with a history of property offences and breaches of conditions.

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson, who was acting as duty counsel for Altmiks, presented a bail plan that would have her staying with a friend in Brandon and putting up a $1,000 cash bail. Dawson said that Altmiks would abide by court-ordered conditions for her release, including a curfew and not to possess any ID or credit cards that are not in her names.

Associate chief judge Donovan Dvorak was skeptical about the likelihood of Altmiks to not reoffend, calling the evidence he heard a “sophisticated operation” of theft and identity fraud.

Ultimately, Dvorak denied Altmiks’ bail.

“I would suspect that the $1,000 cash would be seen as the cost of doing business and we’d never see her again,” he said.

Altmiks’ matter will next appear in court on Nov. 9.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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