West Vancouver police have a suspect in custody and another one is on the loose following a break-in that turned violent in the British Properties Monday night.
Just after 9 p.m., two women broke into a home on the 1100-block of Crestline Road. The homeowners were visiting family in North Vancouver at the time but their security system alerted them to the burglars and sent surveillance images to their smartphones.
But, instead of calling 911 to report a break-in in progress, they went to confront the suspects themselves.
When they arrived, the situation quickly escalated into a violent confrontation, police say.
“They indicated they were going to call police, and there was a struggle in which one of the homeowners had their phone taken and thrown away. They were struggling to restrain the suspects. There was a fairly violent struggle including some scratching and some biting,” said Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
The fleeing suspects also dealt serious damage to the victim’s car, crashing into it, as they made their escape. Only then did the victim call for help. When police arrived, the suspects were long gone.
Investigators found evidence at the scene leading them to a person of interest, a 43-year-old Coquitlam woman. West Vancouver police requested Coquitlam RCMP step up patrols near the suspect’s neighbourhood. Just after 1 a.m., RCMP members arrested her without incident, seized her vehicle and brought her back to West Vancouver to be booked.
West Vancouver police kept the woman in custody overnight, pending her first court appearance at North Vancouver provincial court on Tuesday. Police will be seeking several charges including breaking and entering, and assault. The other suspect remains unidentified.
Palmer could not say if there was anything specific the home was being targeted for. In any case, if you have evidence your home is being broken into, you should call police immediately and never try to confront the burglars yourself, Palmer said.
“We can’t emphasize it enough. There are so many unpredictable things that can happen,” Palmer said. “Every minute that there’s a delay in contacting officers is another minute that either affords the suspect an opportunity to escape or increases the risk if you’re going to your home yourself.
“You don’t really know what you will be encountering and what that person’s physical capabilities are. You’re just exposing yourself to a lot of really high-risk unknowns.”
