Firearm seized following Medicine Hat restaurant theft

Two people face charges after an alleged theft late Sunday night at a Medicine Hat restaurant.

Police responded to a report of a theft in progress at a restaurant in the 2500 block of Box Springs Boulevard NW. Two people allegedly left without paying for their meal. When police arrived, they found a woman inside the establishment attempting to address the outstanding bill.

A short time later a man was located inside the restaurant and was taken into custody without incident. Inside a backpack that belonged to the man, police found a loaded sawed-off .22 calibre rifle, and ammunition. Police say they later found both the man and woman to be in breach of court-imposed conditions at the time of the incident. One individual was also found to be in possession of identification belonging to another person.

26-year-old Jade Holt and 22-year-old Connor Brace, both of Medicine Hat, are facing a long list of charges:

Jade Holt was charged with the following:

• Failure to comply with a release order (4 counts)
• Food fraud
• Possession of identity documents

Connor Brace was charged with the following:

• Breach of probation order (3 counts)
• Possession of a prohibited / restricted firearm contrary to a court order
• Carrying a concealed weapon
• Careless storage of a firearm
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm
• Food fraud
• Possession of a restricted firearm without a licence
• Possession of a loaded prohibited / restricted firearm

Both suspects were scheduled to appear in Medicine Hat Provincial Court on Tuesday.