A 28-year-old man known to police is facing break and enter and theft charges after robbing a store in downtown Parksville.
At 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 25th, Oceanside RCMP attended to a business alarm in the 100 block of Craig Street in downtown Parksville.
They discovered that the business had a broken glass window and had been broken into. A police dog team accompanied officers, but despite tracking efforts, they were unable to locate the suspect.
The business had surveillance cameras, which provided police with clear images of the lone break-in suspect.
With these images, they were able to locate the suspect around two hours later on Island Highway in Parksville, and arrested him for the break and enter.
The suspect was in possession of the stolen items, all of which were returned to the owner.
“The arresting officer said he and his team were laser focussed in locating the break in suspect,” said Sergeant Shane Worth of the Oceanside RCMP in a media release.
“Because the business had up to date working video surveillance they could immediately provide to officers, the suspect was arrested and the stolen items were recovered and returned all within a couple of hours.”
The 28-year-old man is of no fixed address and is known to the Oceanside RCMP, having also been a suspect in a December 2024 business break and enter in downtown Parksville, where officers reportedly found forensic evidence linking him to the scene.
The suspect was held in custody for a brief time, but was later released with conditions to appear in court on April 22nd in relation to both break and enter investigations.
Charges have not yet been laid.
