Nanaimo RCMP End Crime Spree

Dramatic Arrest

Nanaimo RCMP carried out a dramatic arrest of four individuals yesterday and the subsequent arrest of a fifth yesterday afternoon after a report of a nearby break and enter.

The situation began with a 911 call from a male on Maple St claiming three males had come to his home and attempted to break in. The males did not get into the home and after leaving, the male called 911 providing the plate and description of the vehicle they left in . A description was then broadcast to officers on the street.

A few minutes later the vehicle was spotted on Highway 19 near the Northfield Rd intersection. Members stopped it and with guns drawn, performed a high risk extraction and arrested four persons in the vehicle. A fifth person , the driver, fled on foot. The four were taken into police custody while other members including Police Dog Services, commenced a track for the driver. The track lead by Cst Mark Lawson and Police Services dog Razor took them to a home in the 1400 block of Windsor St , not far from where the vehicle was stopped.

“Our members contained the home and based on evidence found decided to enter it and search for the male” said Constable Gary O’Brien, media spokesperson for the Nanaimo RCMP. The home owners were not home .Constable Lawson and Razor searched the entire residence eventually locating the male hiding in a crawl space in the attic. A 26 year old male was taken into police custody and faces a variety of criminal charges. Prior to being caught he had robbed the home and had thrown various items into bags for easy transport before Razor intervened.

“This male has been on a crime spree dating back to February 26 th when a home on Vancouver Ave was broken into. In that incident the home owners car and various credit cards were taken. He then stole another vehicle from Parksville on February 28th and committed a break and enter on March 3rd in Port Alberni. This person has an extensive criminal record dating back several years and was remanded into custody to appear before a Nanaimo Provincial court judge for some time today” said O’Brien.

Only one of the other four males in the vehicle face charges. A 41 year old was found to be in possession of a small quantity of crack cocaine and marihuana. He was released on a Promise to Appear for later in the April. The other three were released later in the day.