Victoria BC – A sharp-eyed citizen put the brakes on a one-man crime spree early Monday, which all started with the theft of a bicycle.
A distraught bike owner called VicPD at approximately 3 p.m. Sunday when her bike was stolen from the bike rack on the back of her parked car in the area of Douglas and Yates streets. The victim of the theft had left her car momentarily, and came back to find the bike gone.
Moments later, and a mere two blocks away, a report of a robbery with a knife occurred at a business in the 900-block of Yates Street. The Loss Prevention Officer attempted to stop the suspect after he had taken an item from the store. When confronted, the suspect pulled a knife, threatened the LPO, and fled on a bicycle (later thought to be the recently stolen bike). Thankfully, the Loss Prevention Officer was able to get a detailed description of the man and relayed that to officers.
At approximately 8:15 p.m., officers were called to the 900-block of Humboldt Street for an interrupted break and enter to an unoccupied apartment. An employee in the building was made aware of this and confronted the suspect, who fled the scene.
Early Monday morning, at around 1 a.m., the sharp-eyed employee from the break and enter spotted the suspect near Quadra and Fort streets. Officers quickly converged on the scene and arrested the man. He was riding the stolen bike, and matched the descriptions from the other two crimes.
“This is another great example of how citizens in our communities help us every day,” said VicPD Chief Elsner. “If this person had not seen the suspect, we may still be searching for him.”
The 32-year-old Victoria man was lodged in jail for court today and officers are recommending charges of robbery, possession of break-in instruments, theft under $5000, possession of stolen property and break and enter.
Officers are looking forward to reuniting the bike with its owner.
