Alleged porch pirates in Central Ontario nabbed by South Simcoe police

Article content

South Simcoe Police have arrested a man and woman in a string of thefts — known as porch piracy — from just outside homes and hotel rooms in 16 different cities and towns across Central Ontario.

Search warrants were executed at a Hamilton hotel room and on a vehicle in Innisfil where they recovered a stolen auto, about $90,000 worth of jewelry and dozens of other personal items including clothing, watches, bank cards, government issued documents and personal mail, they said.

Police also seized 18 grams of suspected methamphetamine and 18 grams of suspected fentanyl.

Lily Goguen, 25, of no fixed address, and Brian Murray, 32, of Barrie have been charged with a variety of offences including theft, fraud, possession of stolen property and possession of drugs.

The police investigation began in March 2023 and the couple’s alleged crime spree included complex identity theft and fraud occurrences.

The South Simcoe Police thanked policing partners at York Regional Police, Barrie Police, Hamilton Police and Waterloo Regional Police for their assistance.

Authorities are in the process of returning the stolen property to the rightful owners and think there might be even more victims outside of the 16 jurisdictions they already know about.