A sharp-eyed and fleet-footed off-duty Nanaimo RCMP officer nabbed a man who had been siphoning gas out of a Boys and Girls Club vehicle on Saturday morning.
The officer drives by the club’s 400 Cranberry Ave. property regularly, keeping on eye on the facility and watching over the vehicles in its parking lot, said Nanaimo Const. Gary O’Brien. “On this day, his vigilance paid off.”
As the officer was driving to work at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, he spotted a man crouched behind a vehicle. Next to the man was a hose running out of the gas tank of a club vehicle.
“The officer pulled in and drove towards the suspect. Realizing the gig was up, the suspect tried to make a break for it.”
But the officer had been expecting that and ran after the suspect. “A short foot pursuit followed by a brief struggle eventually led to the suspect being detained for the theft,” O’Brien said.
The Boys and Girls Club has been a target in recent years for petty theft and gas siphoning.
“Hopefully this arrest will set the tone amongst other criminals that their property is not for the taking, and is meant for the kids they support,” O’Brien said.
The 53-year-old suspect was later released to appear in court on Jan. 31 for theft under $5,000.
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
