Help from observant civilians and quality video surveillance combined with good old-fashioned police work to land two break and enter suspects in custody.
The leads to the arrests started coming in Wednesday at about 1 a.m. when a Lantzville resident, one of two witnesses, called 911 reporting a man and woman were attempting to break into the White Bridal Boutique at 7217 Lantzville Rd. The witness also provided a good description of the suspects’ vehicle.
Nanaimo RCMP used the information to locate and arrest both suspects a few minutes later near Dorman Road and the Island Highway.
Investigators searched the vehicle and found stolen items, including hair products allegedly stolen Tuesday from Be Beautiful Day Spa in Nanaimo and clothing taken during a break and enter at NYLA Boutique on Commercial Street, a drivers licence stolen from Vancouver in 2012 and several stolen license plates.
The suspects, a man from Squamish, 46, and a 25-year-old woman from the Lower Mainland were held in custody and were scheduled to appear in Nanaimo Provincial court later on Wednesday to face recommended charges of two counts of break and enter each and at least three counts of possession of stolen property.
“The arrest of these two was made possible by civilians reporting suspicious activity immediately,” Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said in a press release.
“Also the video surveillance from Be Beautiful for a Day was high quality and extremely helpful to the investigators.
“Lastly, the officers involved located the two within minutes, pulled the evidence together and made it relatively easy for Crown to proceed with charges.”
One article of clothing belonging to NYLA was recovered from the car, but more than $10,000 dollars of clothing was taken during the early morning break in and remains unaccounted for.
If anyone has information on the location of the remaining clothes, please contact Cpl. Don Helgeson at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.