RCMP in Vernon made two arrests in the span of eight hours this week, both in connection to vandalizing and stealing from parking meters.
The first happened around 8:30 pm on Wednesday night along 30th Street, where witnesses saw a man targeting the meters.
Within minutes of the 911 call, police had arrived on scene and located the 39-year-old Vernon man responsible.
It turns out that he was in violation of the conditions of a previous release order, where he is not allowed to be within one metre of a parking meter and also not allowed to possess break-in instruments.
Today at 4:30 am, the RCMP got another similar report of a man breaking into parking meters on Centennial Drive.
Police arrived on scene and arrested the 35-year-old vernon man, who was in possession of a home-made device that can retrieve coins from parking meters.
He’ll appear in court in the future regarding charges of mischief, theft and failure to comply with a probation order.
“It takes a team effort to mitigate crime in the downtown core of Vernon. As much as we try, police cannot be everywhere to see crime as it happens,” said Cpl. Tania Finn.
“We are appreciative of those who take the time to call us when they witness a crime or observe something they feel a police officer should check out.”
Both men remain in police custody at this time.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
