RCMP Community Connection for the week of January 22 - 28

Mission

2024-02-05 06:13 PST

Welcome to the Mission RCMP Community Connection for the week of January 22 - 28, 2024

Here’s a snapshot of some of the work we did that week:

Calls for service last week: 296
Proactive patrols of identified hot spots: 6

Calls of interest:

Photo of hole cut in fence

Click here for large photo of hole cut in fence

During the evening of January 22, a loss prevention officer from a retail store along Lougheed Highway reported a shoplifting incident that had just occurred. A male with a shaved head and muscular build entered the store, then ran out with around $300 in clothing, sunglasses and cosmetics. A few hours later, Mission RCMP responded to an alarm at a nearby business. Officers attended and found a hole had been cut in a chain link fence, and a male was inside the office at that location. The man tried to run, but officers caught up with him and took him into custody. He was confirmed to be the same person responsible for the shoplifting. Charges are being recommended for both matters.

A 2017 GMC Savannah work van was stolen from Lee Street in Mission on the morning of January 24. The owner had started up the van then returned inside his house, and when he came back out, the van was gone. Officers located the van near Westview Avenue a few hours later. Drivers are reminded that warm-up thefts are common during the colder months, and thieves regularly target vehicles idling in driveways during the early morning hours. Even if you lock your vehicle doors when you return inside, it can still only take a minute for someone to get into your vehicle and drive away, and the safest option is not to leave a running vehicle unattended.

Shortly before 5 am on January 26, Mission RCMP attended a vacant property in the 10900 block of Farms Road in Hatzic, for a vehicle on fire. Officers examined the vehicle and determined it to be the white Dodge Ram that was stolen during a break and enter on 9th Avenue on January 20. One of the firearms stolen during that break and enter was also located nearby. The truck had clearly been set on fire intentionally. The investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call Mission RCMP.

On January 24, a black Honda Accord was stolen from Vancouver. Later that day, a location-tracking device on the vehicle showed it to be at a gas station in Deroche. Mission RCMP attended the gas station and located someone rummaging around inside the vehicle. Officers told the man that he was under arrest, however he chose to try to run away. Officers obliged, chased after the man, and used the assistance of a large, appropriately-placed snowbank to get control of the man (officers agreed that it was the coolest arrest they had ever made). He was arrested for possession of stolen property and failing to comply with his existing release conditions from a previous offence, and held in custody.