Police are investigating the theft of photographic equipment and other items with a total value of $30,000 to $40,000 from a storage locker in downtown Squamish late last week.
On Friday (Oct. 19), Squamish RCMP received a report of a storage locker having been broken into at a facility in the 37000 block of Second Avenue that morning. A lock had been pried off and photographic equipment, climbing gear and tents were stolen, RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride wrote in a statement.
The same day at around 11:15 a.m., a tall, skinny Caucasian male with a French accent was noted in the area carrying two large duffle bags, Pride said. Police are examining surveillance video in their investigation of the matter.
Two face charges
Police are pursuing charges of theft and possession of stolen property against two Squamish men suspected of having stolen a motorcycle from an underground storage locker recently.
On Friday (Oct. 19) at around 10:45 a.m., police responded to a report of two suspicious men pushing a dirt bike along the road near Garibaldi Garden Courts apartments on Garibaldi Way, RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride wrote in a statement. At the scene, police saw two males flee and were able to apprehend one. The other escaped by bicycle. The motorcycle, which had been stolen from a storage locker in an underground parking lot in the 1400 block of Pemberton Avenue, was returned to its owner, Pride said. The two men, both age 32, are "well known to police," he said.
Items recovered
On Saturday, police responded to a report of a male stripping a bike along a trail in Cottonwood Park in Brackendale. Officers located a 30-year-old Squamish man in possession of a bike that had been reported stolen from in front of London Drugs earlier in the day. The man was, in fact, one of the two arrested in connection with the stolen motorcycle the previous day. Also found in his possession were a number of cameras and a cellphone, as well as some copper wire. Police are pursuing charges of possession of stolen property.
Man attacked
A Squamish man apparently was attacked and knocked to the ground in an altercation near McDonald's early Wednesday (Oct. 17), but police have so far been unable to corroborate the victim's story that he was also chased and kicked by a group of young males attempting to steal his cellphone.
The man told The Chief he encountered a group of five or six males outside the Cliffside Pub at around 2 a.m. After he pulled out a smartphone, a member of the group demanded he hand the device to them, and a chase ensued. During the chase, the man said, he fell and was repeatedly kicked by the group, before the victim got up and running toward downtown. The man said he suffered multiple injuries in the attack.
After talking to witnesses, though, police were only able to determine that the man had a physical altercation near McDonald's with a single male, "who appeared to have thrown the victim to the ground and left the area on a blue bicycle towards downtown," Pride wrote.
The victim was uncooperative and was arrested for being drunk in public, Pride said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Squamish RCMP at (604) 892-6100 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Bikes, boards stolen
Two bikes and two snowboards were stolen from a storage locker in an incident that was reported to police last Tuesday (Oct. 16). The locker at a complex in the 38000 block of Cleveland Avenue, had been broken into the previous night.
One of the stolen bikes is a men's 21-speed Giant Yukon, valued at around $800, while the other is a baby blue, single-speed men's Kona Coward dirt jumper worth approximately $2,200. The snowboards are a purple and pink women's 150-centimetre Burton, with blue boots, worth around $400, and a men's Liquid with Burton F5 bindings and red and black Kemper boots.
Computer taken
On Friday, police received a report of a burglary at a home in the 41000 block of Government Road between 1 and 9 p.m. A rear door was damaged to gain entry, and a MacBook computer valued at around $2,000 was stolen. Inside the home, couches were slashed, toothpaste smeared throughout the bathroom and bleach was poured onto a bed, Pride said. Police were examining the scene for fingerprints.
Bike swiped
On Saturday (Oct. 20), police received a report of a mountain bike having been stolen from a garage in the 2400 block of Mamquam Road. The previous night the owner had closed the garage door with the bike inside, but in the morning the door was open and only the bike was missing, with no sign of forced entry. Stolen was a black men's 21-speed Specialized Enduro mountain bike, valued at $3,500.
