CRD REGIONAL CRIME UNIT
MEDIA RELEASE
TO: All Media SUBJECT: Arrest
CASE: RCU 12-66 DATE RELEASED: July 20, 2012
TIME: 1000 hrs. METHOD: Saanich Police
MEMBER RELEASING: Staff Sergeant Gary Schenk 250-883-4389
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Regional Crime Unit Arrests View Royal Vehicle Prowler
During the early morning hours of Thursday, July 19, members of the Regional Crime Unit arrested 32 year old Jonathan Daniel ROSS in the 100 block of Cheltenham Street in View Royal, near the border with Saanich, after he had been observed attempting to break into vehicles. Officers watched ROSS prowl onto several residential properties trying the door handles of cars parked in the driveways. On one occasion ROSS went up to the front door of a residence and opened the mailbox searching for uncollected mail. On this occasion ROSS was unable to locate an unlocked vehicle, and he was arrested as he was leaving the area on a bicycle. He was charged with Attempt Theft and Tresspass At Night and held in custody to appear in Western Communities Provincial Court. Less than 10 hours after his arrest ROSS pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days jail and a 1 year term of Probation, including a condition that he is not to be found any where inside the boundaries of the Municipality of View Royal.
This case serves as an excellent reminder of the importance of locking vehicles and not leaving anything of value inside. The Regional Crime Unit had targeted ROSS for investigation after noting an increase in thefts from vehicles within the vicinity of his residence.
The Regional Crime Unit is an integrated unit comprised of police officers from the Saanich Police Department, Oak Bay Police Department, Central Saanich Police Service, West Shore Detachment RCMP as well as Provincial RCMP. Since February 2008 the Regional Crime Unit has been pursuing its mandate of proactively targeting the region’s most prolific criminal offenders.
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