Suspect nabbed in prolific theft-from-auto spree
West Vancouver police say they have arrested a suspect in a crime spree that has seen 28 vehicles on the North Shore and possibly more broken into and robbed over a single 48-hour span.
On Friday afternoon, police in North Vancouver issued a warning to vehicle owners across North and West Vancouver about a rash of thefts that began Wednesday and appeared to continue into Friday morning.
"We have definitely experienced a spike in complaints of thefts from vehicles, especially to higher end vehicles," North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Cpl. Richard De Jong said in the release.
He added that police in both North Shore communities had a list of suspects they were investigating.
But the West Vancouver Police Department says it had its chief suspect in custody by then, after a 43-year-old man with no fixed address was arrested in the British Properties Friday morning.
At approximately 4 a.m. Friday, a WVPD officer stopped a suspicious looking man in the 400 block of Eastcot Road.
The man was quickly arrested for possession of break-in tools and a search of the area led to the discovery of a 2002 Ford F250 pickup truck recently stolen from Surrey.
Inside the truck police found a cache of stolen goods they believe had been taken from at least 18 parked cars in North Vancouver on Thursday night alone.
"Literally anything from soccer boots to Gatorade bottles and CDs," WVPD Staff Sgt. Jeff Young told The Outlook by phone Friday.
Young said the man has not yet been forensically linked to the stolen truck or the stolen property but police continue to investigate while the man awaits an appearance in North Vancouver Provincial Court.
"If these stop, then that's ultimately an indicator that he was responsible for them," Young said. "And if that's the case, make no mistake, he will be on our radar in the future."
The WVPD and North Van Mounties ask anyone who thinks they may have recently been a victim of a theft from their car to call their local police department and report it.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.