Police have announced that they've arrested two Burnaby residents and charged them with 70 individual crimes in relation to commercial break-ins over the past few months.
In a news release, the men charged are described as "chronic offenders" by the Vancouver Police Department.
The crimes were committed in Vancouver and surrounding communities, and the VPD says that the "Property Crime Unit have been investigating the rise in commercial break-and-enters in Vancouver since the COVID-19 pandemic first began."
“We believe that the arrest of these two suspects and the subsequent charge approval will have a major impact on commercial break-ins around the city,” said Sgt. Aaron Roed, VPD. “However, police efforts to target property crime offenders will continue.”
Police are encouraging businesses who are shut down to make sure no property is visible from outside their buildings, to use shutters and to upgrade their lighting to help reduce crime.
The charges are outlined below.
Shane Duhamel, 44:
· 14 counts of break-and-enter,
· 21 counts of failure to comply with probation order,
· two counts of breach of release order,
· two counts of possession of break-in instruments, and
· one count of disguise with intent.
Jesse Palanio, 33:
· seven counts of break-and-enter,
· 13 counts of failure to comply with release order,
· one count of possession of a prohibited weapon,
· two counts of possession of credit card data,
· two counts possession of ID documents,
· three counts of possession of stolen property, and
· two counts of theft under $5,000.
