Thieves who allegedly broke into a sporting goods store and stole dozens of hockey jerseys are getting a penalty.
Nanaimo RCMP quickly tracked down and arrested suspects who allegedly stole from Kirby’s Source for Sports at about 2:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31, according to a press release. Two suspects were visible on security footage stealing more than 70 items from the store, including three dozen youth hockey jerseys.
The video showed one of the suspect breaking into and entering the business twice, grabbing as many jerseys as he could, and loading them into a waiting pickup truck.
Approximately an hour after the investigation began, RCMP officers spotted the suspect vehicle northbound on Terminal Avenue and pulled it over.
“As luck would have it, the suspect who was identified from the surveillance footage was located in the vehicle along with all of the stolen jerseys,” the release noted.
The 48-year-old suspect and the 40-year-old driver, both of no fixed address, were arrested and taken to the RCMP detachment, with one man facing a count of breaking and entering and the other facing a count of possession of stolen property. Both have been released and will be expected in Nanaimo provincial court in February.
Zack Gilbey, store manager, told police he was ecstatic to learn that the jerseys had been recovered and the suspects “caught red-handed,” the release noted.
“We were looking at a huge financial loss to replace these items. We’re just so relieved and grateful for getting them all back and for the quick and efficient response by the officers involved,” Gilbey told police.
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editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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