Porch pirate investigation at Calgary condo complex unearths ID forgery lab

Machines used for forging identification and credit cards were seized during the Dec. 2 search of a Beltline condo unit and a vehicle. (Calgary Police Service)

The Calgary Police Service has recovered hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of stolen mail and shuttered an identification forgery lab at a Beltline condo complex.

Members of a condo board in the 500 block of 12^th Avenue S.W. reached out to police regarding problematic tenants who were suspected of stealing packages and mail belonging to others who lived in the building.

An investigation into the missing mail led to the Dec. 2 search of a condo unit as well as a vehicle.

The search resulted in the seizure of:

• Four packages that had been reported stolen by other tenants;
• Machines used to forge identification and credit cards;
• Forged identification with one of the suspects' photo and assumed names;
• An upper receiver and barrel from a Glock handgun; and,
• Hundreds, potentially thousands, pieces of mail destined for various residential buildings and businesses in Calgary.

Two people — 46-year-old Erin Lindsay Emerson and 38-year-old Steven Edward Hart — were arrested and charged with possession of stolen property, possession of forgery instruments and possession of forged documents.

Emerson was scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 3 while Hart was expected to make a court appearance on Tuesday.