A man who allegedly squatted in a Nanaimo home while residents were away on holiday was arrested earlier this week after he refused to leave, say police.
The arrest was made Monday (Sept. 7).
The 40-year-old, who was known to police, did not come out of the house when asked and so a police dog was sent in, said Const. Gary Osa国际传媒橞rien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman.
Osa国际传媒橞rien said a family that lives in the 300 block of Nicol Street went to the Yukon for three weeks and sa国际传媒渋t appears that either a squatter or squatters basically took over their house and did a lot of damage sa国际传媒� We were advised the house was empty at the time and nobody should be in the house.sa国际传媒�
The family returned from holiday on Sunday, the day before the arrest, to find that their house had been broken into and that property had been damaged and allegedly stolen.
sa国际传媒淭he beds had been broken and stained, the kidssa国际传媒� clothes and toys had been strewn all over, and there was drug paraphernalia everywhere, including in the kidssa国际传媒� new back-to-school backpacks. Almost all of their things have been stained, broken, or stolen,sa国际传媒� noted a press release from GoFundMe.
The next night at about 8 p.m., Nanaimo RCMP were called to a report of a break-and-enter in progress and found a suspect back inside the home.
sa国际传媒淚t was known [the suspect] has a propensity for violence and is sometimes carrying weaponssa国际传媒a国际传媒� Osa国际传媒橞rien said. sa国际传媒淭he male was taken out [of the home], taken to hospital for a few stitches and hesa国际传媒檚 in cells as we speak.sa国际传媒�
The suspect appeared in provincial court in Nanaimo this week to face a charge of break-and-enter.
Osa国际传媒橞rien said these sort of incidents arensa国际传媒檛 common because he said a lot of citizens in Nanaimo are sa国际传媒渟witched onsa国际传媒� to crime prevention.
sa国际传媒淜ey is communication between neighbours to say, sa国际传媒榟ey, Isa国际传媒檓 going to be out of town for a while, can you keep an eye on things?sa国际传媒� Not saying this did not happen, but obviously there was a breakdown somewhere,sa国际传媒� Osa国际传媒橞rien said.
A GoFundMe has raised $8,700 for the family, which didnsa国际传媒檛 have tenantssa国际传媒� insurance. To view or donate to the GoFundMe, .
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