The Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) have taken one woman into custody after a four-hour long barricade, and a prior break-in to a vehicle dealership.
On Thursday, August 13 at around 8:20 p.m., Victoria Police patrol officers responded to reports that a woman had broken into a vehicle dealership in the 500-block of Frances Ave.
The woman allegedly tried to steal a vehicle while inside and drove the car into the dealership’s garage doors. Before police arrived, the suspect reportedly fled the business, leaving the car running inside.
While officers were searching for the suspect, a call came in at about 10:40 p.m. in which residents of a property in the 400 block of Burnside Road E reported that they had returned home to find an unknown woman inside.
Police arrived to find that the woman had barricaded herself in the basement of the property and, through conversations with her, established that she was the same suspect that had broken into the nearby dealership earlier that night.
GVERT, including crisis negotiators were then called in and worked for several hours to resolve the incident.
However police say negotiations failed, and at around 2:15 a.m., GVERT officers entered the house, deployed a noise distraction device, and deployed a non-lethal ARWEN round to take the suspect into custody.
She was taken to hospital for assessment where she was medically cleared. The suspect was then transported to cells and held for morning court.
The suspect faces recommended charges of break and enter with intent.
The investigation into both the break-ins is ongoing.
