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A Montreal resident with past convictions for thievery was charged this week with breaking into an RCMP vehicle while it was being used to provide security as former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s body was lying in repose the day before his funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Basilica last weekend.
Mokhtar Eldjidel, 48, was charged Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse with three alleged offences committed when the vehicle was broken into on March 22. That includes a charge that he stole an identity card in the name of another person. He is also charged with causing mischief to a motor vehicle.
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A Quebec Court judge ordered that he be released after Eldjidel agreed to follow a series of conditions and to make a $1,000 bond. The case returns to court near the end of April.
He is also charged with stealing another identity card in December and with being in possession of an instrument commonly used to break into vehicles when he was arrested by the Montreal police on Tuesday.
According to a report published by the Journal de Montréal, the vehicle Eldjidel is alleged to have broken into was an unmarked RCMP vehicle and was parked near the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, located near the basilica.
The newspaper also reported that a backpack containing a document issued to government officials travelling abroad, a police radio, a badge and a card granting privileged access to airports was stolen from the vehicle.
Last year, Eldjidel was charged at the Montreal courthouse with theft and being in possession of stolen items. That case is still pending.
His criminal record dates back to 2005, and in 2019 he received a 10-month prison term after he pleaded guilty to several offences related to theft, including mischief and being in possession of instruments used for break-ins.
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