Image Credit: Youtube
March 11, 2020 - 12:29 PM
Vernon RCMP have arrested two people suspected of breaking into parking meters following a spate of thefts over the last week.
According to a Vernon North Okanagan RCMP release at around 9:30 p.m. March 10, police received a report three men were breaking into parking meters in downtown Vernon. Police attending the scene and made two arrests, however, a third suspect fled on foot and was not located.
A 28-year-old man and a 35-year-old man were arrested and found to be in possession of equipment used to break into a parking meter, as well as a small number of Canadian quarters, loonies and toonies. One of the men has a history of similar types of theft in the Vernon area.
Just five minutes before RCMP received the report about the three men, another citizen contacted police to report a suspicious man who appeared to be breaking into a parking meter. Police were not able to locate the man, but his description did not meet that of the three other suspects.
Vernon has seen an increase of parking meter break-ins recently with the RCMP reporting at least 39 meters had been targeted by thieves in the last week.
"Both of these incidents came to the attention of the police because concerned citizens witnessed suspicious activity and took the time to call us," Vernon RCMP Corp. Tania Finn said in the release. "We appreciate the public’s assistance in identifying these crimes as they occur. Without these calls from the public, police would not have been in a position to make an immediate arrest."
Both men, who are known to police, remain in custody in order to appear in court.
RCMP ask the public if they see any suspicious activity or witness a crime to call the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP non-emergency line of 250-545-7171 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or leave a tip online at www.nokscrimestoppers.com.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020