A 21-year-old Parksville man is facing four months of jail time after police connected him to a string of thefts from vehicles in the city earlier this week.
Oceanside RCMP Cpl. Jesse Foreman said he received eight phone calls Monday morning regarding thefts from unlocked vehicles in the area between Ballenas Secondary School and Springwood Elementary School. Foreman said stolen items include electronics, cash, clothing and a backpack, but noted only unlocked vehicle were targeted and none of the vehicles sustained smashed windows or wrecked doors.
“I want to stress to people it’s almost perpetuating a crime (leaving vehicle doors unlocked),” he told The NEWS. “If everyone in Oceanside locked their vehicle doors this would be far less of a problem.”
According to a news release issued by Oceanside RCMP, the stolen backpack was “very identifiable” and later found on the suspect, who is well known to police, in downtown Parksville.
He was arrested Monday in connection with the thefts from vehicles. Oceanside RCMP crime reduction unit officers were able to connect the suspect to several of the thefts through evidence and statements. Police said he was held in custody overnight and appeared in Nanaimo Provincial Court Tuesday where he received four months of incarceration for Theft Under $5,000 and Possession of Stolen Property.
