Man arrested for vehicle theft twice in 9 days in Mission, B.C., RCMP say

A 41-year-old Mission resident remains in custody after being arrested twice in nine days for alleged vehicle thefts.

Jesse Lee Grabinsky was arrested shortly before 7:30 p.m. on May 30 after allegedly attempting to steal a flagging truck from a road construction crew that was working near Stave Lake Street and Dewdney Trunk Road, Mission RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

“Witnesses reported that the suspect had arrived in a grey sedan, before getting into the flagging truck,” the release reads.

“After a worker intervened, the man ran off, but was located and arrested by police shortly afterwards. Witnesses also reported that a passenger in the grey sedan told them that it was actually his car, however he left the scene before police were able to speak with him.”

Mounties said they later received a report from someone who had witnessed the theft of a grey sedan from a DoorDash driver elsewhere in Mission.

“That person reported that the delivery driver got into the passenger seat of the vehicle while it was being taken. The investigation into confirming whether these two events are linked is ongoing.”

Grabinsky was charged with attempted theft of a motor vehicle and was released with conditions after a bail hearing.

On June 7, nine days after his initial arrest, Grabinsky was arrested again, according to police.

This time, police were notified that a grey Nissan Rogue had been stolen from Oak Lane near 1st Avenue and Welton Street in Mission. The vehicle was recovered the same day in an alley between 4th and 5th avenues, police said.

Online court records show Grabinsky has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer and two counts of breaching a release order in connection to the June 7 incident.

He remains in custody and his next court appearance is scheduled for June 19 in Abbotsford.

In the meantime, police said Thursday that they had been unable to locate the DoorDash driver. They asked the driver and anyone else with information about the incidents to call Mission RCMP at 604-826-7161.

The file number for the May 30 incident is 25-6223, while the file number for the June 7 incident is 25-6612, police said.