An arrest has been made in connection with the arson at a downtown Vernon pet store.
Vernon RCMP and Vernon Fire Rescue Services were called to the rear of Aj’s Pets and Things at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6.
A small fire had been deliberately started at that location.
Surveillance video released on Facebook by the pet store – viewed 70,000 times and shared more than 2,500 times – showed a man appearing to start the fire.
“Our investigation has led to the arrest of a 33-year-old Vernon man,” said Vernon RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy, who said earlier this week that the man on the video was not related to a similar fire last year at Aj’s Pets and Things in which two men were arrested and convicted of arson.
“The video was very helpful, as was assistance from the public.”
Noseworthy also said that police believed the man in the video was not connected to a string of unsolved arsons in the Greater Vernon area in the summer of 2014.
Crown counsel approved a charge of arson against Ryan Patrick Warnock, who was remanded in custody pending a scheduled court appearance in Vernon on Thursday.
