A 40-year-old man was arrested by Saanich police on Thursday morning in connection with eight break and enters involving local businesses dating back to October 2020.
Early on Jan. 21, after a lengthy investigation by the Saanich Police Department’s Street Crime Unit, officers located and arrested a man with an outstanding warrant for two break and enters in Saanich and Victoria last fall. The individual was charged with eight counts of break and enter and one count of mischief under $5,000.
Police say the man had been targeting Saanich businesses for several months. He has been accused of breaking into a bank, a restaurant and six liquor stores – one of which has it’s windows “carefully removed by the suspect,” said Const. Markus Anastasiades, public information officer for the Saanich police. The stolen items included liquor and electronics.
READ ALSO: Police arrest suspect in Saanich liquor store break and enters
Using evidence obtained by the forensics team along with information collected from a traffic stop initiated by a VicPD canine officer, Saanich police identified a suspect and the Street Crime Unit located him in the early hours of Jan. 21.
While surveilling the suspect, officers noticed he was with another possible suspect near Burnside Road West and Harriet Road. After the primary suspect walked around the back of a business at the corner of the intersection, the second man used a blow torch to smash the glass of a nearby parked car. Just after police arrested him, the primary suspect came back out of the business while the security alarms began to blare. Officers arrested him as well.
Anastasiades said Saanich police are continuing to collaborate with VicPD on their investigation into a similar series of break and enters where glass windows were removed to facilitate thefts.
The primary suspect remains in police custody.
READ ALSO: Sophisticated glass-removal crime returns to downtown Victoria
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