A traffic stop early Tuesday morning (January 16) led to an arrest.

Cst. Dan Martin with Airdrie RCMP explained officers pulled over a vehicle around 12:30am that failed to stop at a red light along Yankee Valley Boulevard.

"There was a lone male driving the vehicle. He did not possess a valid driver's license and he produced documents for the vehicle that did not belong to him nor the vehicle."

Further checks revealed the driver was on an undertaking for which he was breaching curfew conditions. Police conducted a search of the vehicle which turned up a number of break-in tools. The vehicle was then seized and towed.

"Numerous break-in tools were found within the vehicle. Those tools included crowbars, pliers, screwdrivers, several masks, gloves and even some pickaxes."

The matter is still under investigation, but Cst. Martin said it shows the importance of having officers out conducting traffic stops.

"They have gut feelings about certain vehicles and driving patterns and certain things that can identify possible criminals on the road. Police officers are trained in trying to find these things, and this goes to show a simple traffic stop for somebody not stopping at a stop sign or a red light resulted in getting a criminal off the street."

50 year old Tod James Purvis, who has no fixed address in Alberta, has been charged with failure to comply with undertaking and possession of break-in instruments. He was remanded into custody and was scheduled to appear in Calgary Provincial Court this morning. 

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