North Vancouver RCMP are praising some Capilano Road residents for quickly reporting a break-and-enter in progress allowing them to catch the suspects red handed.
Phil Quintana’s 16-year-old son Victor was waiting at a bus stop on the 3900 block of Capilano Road just before 9 a.m. Monday when he noticed some “sketchy” men trying to get into nearby homes and sheds. Victor called his father who got out of bed and came to look for himself.
“Sure enough, they were on the second-floor balcony of the neighbour’s house,” Quintana said.
“Then I called the police.”
Five minutes later, officers arrived just as the suspects were carrying boxes out of the home, Quintana said.
Sgt. Peter DeVries, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman, said two men in their late 20s and early 30s were arrested and investigators seized evidence.
“The investigation is continuing but we anticipate recommending charges of break and enter,” he said.
Quintana said he was proud of Victor, but it wasn’t his son’s first time alerting the authorities to an emergency. In 2017, Victor called 911 after he spotted a fisherman stuck in the Capilano River, triggering a successful rescue effort.
Quintana said he hopes people in neighbourhoods across the North Shore will keep an eye on their neighbours’ homes.
“There have been lots of break-ins around the neighbourhood,” he said. “Neighbours need to be more vigilant about who comes around because you never know, right?”
DeVries agreed.
“This is a great example of the reality that community safety is a shared responsibility and in this case, we’re thankful to the witness for fulfilling that responsibility,” he said.
