A series of break and enters in which more than 30 firearms were stolen has had nothing to do with the recent closure of a Prince George hunting and fishing store, according to one of the outlet's co-owners.
Rather, Mark Van Leeuwen said on Monday that Nechako Outdoors was given notice in about mid-May that it had to be out of its 2629 Vance Road location by the end of the month because the building had been sold to a new owner.
He said he and his partners are now in the process of narrowing down their options for a new home in Prince George but have not yet made a final decision.
Over the course of three separate early-morning break and enters, roughly three dozen firearms were stolen from the store.
Following the third break and enter, Van Leeuwen said the RCMP's firearms officer did ask them to move the remainder of their shotguns and rifles to their Vanderhoof store while investigators figured out who was committing the crimes.
Shortly after complying with that request, "we found out we had to move," Van Leeuwen said.
According to a Prince George RCMP press release, three firearms and some knives were stolen in the first break and enter on April 1, followed by a dozen firearms, mostly shotguns, on April 12.
The largest haul was made on May 5 when about 20 firearms were stolen just before 5 a.m.
A Calgary man, Kurtis Fendrick, 23, was arrested on the same day as the third break and enter and remains in custody while facing several charges. However, just two of the firearms were recovered and RCMP remain on the lookout for a number of other suspects.
Van Leeuwen has no complaints with the way the RCMP has been dealing with the cases.
"Everyone would like them arrested right away but I imagine it's difficult because when you're wearing a ski mask, it's hard to ID who it is and they were arriving at our store in stolen vehicles," Van Leeuwen said. "In the last break in, they showed up in a pickup that was stolen that night."
The pickup suspected of being used in the May 5 break and enter is described by RCMP as a white 2005 Chevrolet Silverado with a two-door extended cab and rear suicide doors and a "4x4" sticker on the side. It was bearing B.C. licence plate CJ 9691 and was believed to have been stolen from a Van Bien home.
Fendrick was driving a black Dodge Charger when he was apprehended in the 1900 block of Strathcona Avenue.
There will be some changes to security when the new store is open.
"We've talked about some different measures that we'll be taking to reduce the chance of this happening in the future," said Van Leeuwen, who noted the thieves were in and out within two minutes each time.
An ex-manager of Nechako Outdoors' Prince George location left a local radio station with the wrong impression, Van Leeuwen said.
"I think he felt that part of the reason why we were moving was because of the break ins, but that's definitely not the case," Van Leeuwen said.
Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass backed up Van Leeuwen's version.
"They had made the decision to move out before the last break in and we have that documented," Douglass said Monday. "We're not the reason they moved out and the owners I spoke to this morning are very much in agreement."
