In a spectacle of alleged criminal activities, a 33-year-old man was recently arrested and charged for a series of thefts, acts of mischief, and assaults. The arrest came after a troubling series of events where he instigated a crime spree across View Royal and Langford, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, that saw local law enforcement on an intensive manhunt.
The string of incidents began on a Saturday morning, revealed in a call logged at 8:14 a.m. by the West Shore RCMP. The report claimed that an individual had hurled a stone at the storefront window of the Cascadia Liquor store on Helmcken Road in View Royal, resulting in substantial damage.
A mere two hours subsequent to this event, the local law enforcement agency received another distress call. This time, the alert was of an alleged theft at the BC Liquor store situated on Jacklin Road in Langford. The claimed item of interest was a bottle of liquor.
At approximately 10:30 a.m., a third call was made to the officers citing an assault and theft on the premises of the Canadian Tire branch on Langford Parkway. A male perpetrator had reportedly stolen bolt cutters and upon being confronted by a store employee outside the establishment, retaliated with physical violence causing minor injuries.
The law enforcement officers promptly responded by attending all three reported incidents. However, they were faced with difficulty in locating a credible suspect for any of the separate instances, as per the statement issued by the RCMP.
Seven hours post the initial complaint lodged with the police, a suspicious report was received regarding an intoxicated individual laying outside a residence near the 2800 block of Jacklin Road. The officers responded at 3:19 p.m., confirming that the man was indeed the prime suspect in the triad of crimes reported earlier.
Ensuing his arrest, the man was detained in custody until he regained sobriety. Following which, he was released under certain conditions to appear for a court hearing scheduled for the end of the month.
