On Mar. 28, 2018, police were alerted to a battery theft that occurred in the early hours of the morning in the area of 144 Avenue and 66 Street. Later that day, police located and arrested two men in the area of Yellowhead Trail and 77 Street. Eleven batteries were recovered from the vehicle in which the two men were travelling. Roy Liska, 41, is charged with possession of stolen property under $5000. The other man was released with no charges.
Police continue to encourage anyone with information about this crime to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.
Background
Approximately 130 of these signs are in use around the city to inform road users of issues such as construction, traffic incidents, major events, seasonal parking bans and emergency updates, including Amber Alerts. Most are powered by solar energy, which is stored in six-volt battery units.
The City of Edmonton has reported thefts of these batteries from 18 signs in 2016, 24 in 2017 and 13 in 2018 to date. The alleged thefts cause damage to the signs, resulting in repair and replacement costs averaging $1,000 per sign each time batteries are forcibly removed.