A Nanaimo couple are the latest victims in a rash of break and enters plaguing homes and businesses across the city since early March.
Ludwig Meyer and his wife arrived home shortly after 8 p.m. Monday and spotted a man in their yard of their house in the 300 block of Haliburton Street.
“As I approached the front steps of the house I saw a guy in the backyard,” said Meyer, 56. “I chased him around the house. When he dropped a laptop that’s when I realized he had actually been inside the house.”
Meyer chased the man south down Haliburton Street, but lost sight of him after the suspect turned down Sabiston Street. Meyer’s wife called police while the chase was on.
When the Meyers entered their home, they found the house had been broken into through a small kitchen window and that the suspect had likely left through the back door. There was a knife laying on the kitchen floor which police took as evidence.
Jewelry, valued at $4,000, a Sony DVD video camera and a Philips MP3 player were missing.
Meyer said the suspect dropped a jewelry box in his flight, but its contents were gone.
Police arrived swiftly and searched the area.
“Their response was excellent,” Meyer said. “They were here right away with several police cars and said they blanketed the area, but I have no news yet on if they actually got hold of the guy or not.”
A police dog team and other members combing the area failed to turn up the suspect.
“The guy was fast, like a rabbit,” Meyer said.
The suspect is described as 5’5” tall, roughly 25- to 30-years-old, medium build with medium length brown hair, wearing baggy grey pants and a black jacket, which Meyer suspects was his black leather jacket.
Meyer did not see the man’s face, but a woman on Farquhar Street walking her dogs told police she saw the suspect. She said he was missing a front tooth and she could possibly identify him.
Meyer and his wife moved into the home in January.
Anyone with information about this crime or the suspect is asked to please call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.