A 28-year-old man was arrested in Parksville early Saturday morning after Oceanside RCMP used surveillance footage to find the suspect shortly after a break-in to a downtown business. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

quick capture

Suspect arrested for Parksville business break-in, also linked to December incident

Jan 29, 2025 | 1:23 PM

PARKSVILLE — Oceanside RCMP officers are crediting their observant officers for arresting a break-and-enter suspect shortly after the crime occurred.

On Saturday, Jan. 25 around 1:30 a.m., police were called after an alarm went off at a downtown business in the 100 block of Craig St. caused by a front window being shattered.

Sgt. Shane Worth said a police dog unit was called in but was unable to locate any suspects, however the business owner helped out in a big way.

“Fortunately for attending officers, the business did have surveillance cameras which provided very excellent, clear images of the break-in suspect. So these were disseminated to the officers who attended the scene and they were on the lookout for this suspect in their patrols.”

A 28-year-old suspect around two hours later still in Parksville near the Island Hwy.

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The man was arrested for the break and enter and had a number of stolen items from the store on him at the time of his arrest, which were returned.

Worth said right before the man was processed and set to be released for the incident, they discovered he was also a suspect in a December 2024 break-and-enter on another downtown Parksville business.

“They had checked other police files and determined that this other break and enter file was still under investigation, and the investigating officer happened to be on duty and noted that they had been looking for this person.”

He was held in custody and then released with conditions to appear in court in April in relation to both investigations.

No formal charges have been laid yet, preventing release of the man’s name.

Worth said it’s incredibly valuable for business owners to have a working surveillance system to help promptly identify any suspects.

“It’s critical to have, if you’re a business owner, to help us to identify…. who’s responsible. Have your equipment working, and be available to provide it to investigators who may show up right away, because it’s important we have that timely information right away as quickly as we can to help catch these people.”

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