Nanaimo RCMP got help from gardening tool-wielding neighbours who detained a break-and-enter suspect until officers could make an arrest. (News Bulletin file photo)

Nanaimo RCMP got help from gardening tool-wielding neighbours who detained a break-and-enter suspect until officers could make an arrest. (News Bulletin file photo)

Group of neighbours wielding garden tools corner suspected B.C. burglar

Suspect was beaten and bloody after an earlier break-and-enter gone wrong

Neighbours wielding garden tools cornered a break-and-enter suspect until Nanaimo RCMP arrived on scene.

According to a police press release, a search for a suspect ended at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, after residents in Cedar used garden tools to pen an alleged perpetrator in a carport in the 1700 block of Woobank Road.

A string of incidents started at about 3 p.m. when numerous officers responded to 911 calls after a homeowner on Yellow Point Road reported coming face-to-face with an intruder in his home.

“A struggle ensued during which time the suspect sustained a head injury and lost a significant amount of blood,” the release noted. “The suspect, although injured, managed to flee.”

RCMP officers, with the help of a police dog, searched the area with no success.

Just before 6 p.m., more 911 calls came in from neighbours on Woobank Road – about two kilometres away from the initial incident – who reported that a man who had dried blood on him had tried to break into a residence there.

“This time, several neighbours came together and brandishing a variety of garden tools, prevented the individual from fleeing,” noted the release.

Police arrested the 34-year-old suspect for the break-in and break-in attempt. He was taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital to be treated for his injuries, then brought to the Nanaimo RCMP detachment where he was held overnight.

The individual, of no fixed address, was also the subject of four outstanding warrants from North Cowichan. No charges have been laid in connection with the two attempted break-and-enters and those incidents remain under investigation, say police.

“We are pleased that the suspect was eventually located and that none of the home owners were injured while trying to subdue him,” said reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, in the release.

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chris.bush@nanaimobulletin.com

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