A man who recently arrived in Victoria from Los Angeles is in hospital for a mental-health assessment after being arrested for causing thousands of dollars in damage at two locations early Friday.
Victoria police responded after multiple people called 911 just before 2 a.m. Friday to report that a man was throwing rocks and smashing windows at a multi-unit residential building in the 1600-block of Quadra Street.
When officers arrived, they observed a man inside a suite, throwing a television through a window to the ground below.
Officers deployed police dog Zender to contain the man and determine if anyone else was in the suite and at risk.
When confronted, the man gave himself up and was taken into custody without incident or injury.
After he was apprehended, the man confessed that he had also caused damage at another location in the 800-block of Dunsmuir Road in Esquimalt.
Property damage is estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.
During the investigation, officers learned the man had been released from a correctional facility in Los Angeles, California, a week ago and had made his way to Victoria.
The man was transported to police cells to be held for court. While there, he made statements that caused jail staff and officers to become concerned for the man’s mental health. He was transported to hospital for a mental-health assessment.
The file remains under investigation.
Victoria police spokesman Bowen Osoko said police are unsure of the man’s citizenship or how he crossed the border.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the VicPD report desk at 250-995-7654, extension 1. To report what you know anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
