A prolific thief is once again in the grip of the law. This time the suspect was attempting to steal from an elder's garage in the middle of the night.
Police got the distress call at about 2 a.m. from the 400 block of Johnson Street.
"The elderly resident looked out to see a male leaving the garage carrying some items," said Prince George RCMP Staff Sgt. Tom Bethune. Police responded to the area and located a 48-year-old male a short distance away.
"He was in possession of tools that were stolen from the garage," said Bethune. "The man was currently out on release on charges regarding thefts from local schools that occurred in October. He has 72 previous criminal code convictions and police consider him to be a prolific offender."
Bethune said the suspect was scheduled to appear before a justice of the peace sometime on Sunday to be formally charged with break-and-enter and theft.
RCMP remind the public that it is always a good idea to report break-ins and theft incidents as soon as possible. Even if a suspect cannot be pinpointed immediately, there is still valuable statistical data that can come from such reports, and, as in this case, it is also possible to quickly capture the culprit.
Call 9-1-1 for any incidents in progress, call Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 to pass on any non-emergency information, or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS / www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
