Jul 19, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 3 min read • 11 comments Paul Stubbens passed a test to return his 2021 Ford F-150 pickup after it was stolen from his Thorndale home on July 12. Photo taken on Monday, July 18, 2021. Mike Hensen/The London Free Press
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A Thorndale man says he’s baffled by how police restrictions and red tape prevented the recovery of his stolen pickup truck, whose location he tracked for hours on an app.
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Paul Stubbens said London police did not respond to his calls for help until he took to social media to tell them he knew where the stolen truck was. “I lost faith in the system and even in humanity for a couple of days,” Stubbens said, adding that he is a supporter of the police. “I felt like I was the only person who felt like a mistake was happening and no one seemed to be fixing it. “It was beyond ridiculous.” Stubbens’ ordeal began July 12 when he called 911 after his red 2021 Ford F-150 disappeared from the driveway of his Thorndale home at about 9:15 a.m. He spoke to Oxford OPP and, using a location app for his vehicle, gave an officer a Woodstock address where he had located the pickup. “The OPP were very helpful and within the next 45 minutes, I was giving them updates on my moving truck” which followed to Thamesford, he said. “I headed out there too.”
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Stubbens, driving his wife’s vehicle, continued to alert OPP officers, who were close to catching the pickup when their cruisers hit the London city limits on Gore Road. “The OPP had the guy, then they shut them down. They just stopped. three cars just turned,” Stubbens said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, we’ve got this guy.’ “ Stubbens then spoke to a London police dispatcher, who told him the force had no one available to help retrieve his truck. By then, the truck was stopped for several minutes at an address off the city’s Veterans Memorial Parkway. Against police advice, Stubbens went to Brewer’s Retail Distribution Center at 280 Sovereign Rd., where he located his stolen truck. “My adrenaline was going 100 percent,” he said. “I said, ‘Look, he’s here. It’s in the truck. Come here, he is begging to be arrested.” “
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The dispatcher said again, “Sorry, we don’t have anyone available,” and told him to leave the scene. A few minutes later, the truck “came out at NASCAR speed, (it) took a turn on two wheels,” Stubbens said. Dispatch told him not to worry because the insurance would cover any damage, he said. “I thought, ‘Am I the only one who thinks crime is happening?’ Stubbens said. It wasn’t until he took to Twitter to describe his situation that a London police officer contacted him, he said. “Within two minutes, I get a call saying, ‘I’m sending a vehicle out,’” he said. “Suddenly, I got three police cars.” Police eventually found the truck abandoned on Langmuir Avenue, southeast of Highbury Avenue and Florence Street, Stubbens said.
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London Police would not comment further because it was an OPP investigation. Derek Rogers, a spokesman for the West Region OPP, said the investigation is ongoing and officers have decided not to pursue the suspect in London due to safety concerns. “This is called a stalking suspect arrest and when a matter is being tried, especially in a city like London where there are a lot of people and vehicle traffic, you have to weigh up the safety concerns,” he said. “This is a matter where we would weigh the risk to the public as to whether or not we continue to pursue any suspect who doesn’t pull over.” The OPP “does not recommend that a person put themselves at significant personal risk by following a stolen vehicle,” Rogers said. “Thieves can react in dangerous and unpredictable ways that can lead to injury to the victim or another member of the public. You have no way of knowing if the person involved might try to confront you and become violent.” [email protected]
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