If you don’t keep your doors locked don’t be surprised if you come home to find you’ve been robbed or, believe it or not, that a band of squatters have made themselves comfortable in your home.
That, unfortunately, is what recently happened to two local homeowners.
Om Friday, August 5, the Mounties received a report that a house had unauthorized persons inside.
“Police received the report from the neighbour who reported that to the best of their knowledge the owner was not home,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Kurt Grabinsky said in a statement. “Police were able to confirm that the owner was out of the province and had not permitted anyone to be inside. Police attended to the residence and observed five persons and two dogs inside the house. All four adults and one youth were arrested. Three adult males, one adult female and one male youth, all from Quebec, were released on Promise to Appear court documents, charged with being Unlawfully in Dwelling House, Section 349.1 Criminal Code of Canada. All have appearances in the Revelstoke court for October 5, 2016.”
Grabinsky said the squatters damaged the house and he urged everyone to make sure their homes are not only securely locked but that they have arranged for a responsible person to check on their home when they are away.
Finding a band of squatters in your living room may be a tad unusual here, but Break and Enters are not. And that’s another reason why nobody should ever leave their doors unlocked.
Grabinsky said that on Thursday, August 4, police were called to a local home and found that someone had entered through an unlocked door and stolen “a large quantity of jewellery, personal belongings and cash. Stolen were Canadian currency coins, Euro currency bills, jewellery boxes containing: a variety of jewellery, five men’s watches (two are Bulova watches which have inscriptions on the back), porcelain jewellery and a lady’s antique ring.”
The suspect(s) entered the unlocked residence, went through many drawers and cabinets, then took a pillow case and filled it with the jewellery and cash.
The Revelstoke RCMP Integrated Forensic Identification Service collected and examined evidence from the scene.
Grabinsky did not identify the exact locations of the houses in question.
Anyone with information regarding this Break and Enter and Theft is encouraged to contact the Revelstoke RCMP Detachment at 250-837-5255 or Revelstoke Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). All Crime Stoppers calls remain anonymous and the information received is is utilized to apprehend subjects responsible for various crimes.
