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‘I could have been dead’: Kelowna woman confronts alleged break-in suspect

Suspect was trying to break into vehicle when confronted
28217979_web1_RCMP-Stock-McLachlanP-Oct.2020-PGM_2680
(File photo)

A Kelowna woman says the RCMP needs more officers after being chased in her own yard, calling 911 twice, only to have officers show up the next day.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, confronted a man who was trying to get into her husband’s new truck parked on Coronation Avenue last Friday (Feb. 13) around 11:15 p.m.

The man said he thought it was his truck and appeared to be walking away.

“Like hell you did,” she said. “I think that’s what ticked him off because he dropped his bag and did this ninja kick over the fence and came after me.”

The man chased her into her house and tried to kick down the front door.

“Honest to God, I don’t know how I got in, in time.”

Read More: Owner of Kelowna electronic store calls on RCMP to address crime after series of break-ins

The man then went back to the truck, ripped off a side mirror, and did further damage to the vehicle.

The woman immediately called 911, but after several minutes no officer had responded. She called again and after realizing no one was coming, her husband managed to repair the front door enough that it could be locked and they went to bed. She said she missed a call from the RCMP around 3 a.m. Saturday.

An officer did show up at her home Saturday afternoon.

“He said, ‘look, I’m not happy with the way that this was handled’,” she explained.

”I could have been dead. Like you guys had no idea, no one showed up,” she told the officer.

She said he spent the day and took the mirror in for fingerprints.

The woman, who works at Kelowna General Hospital, said she understands many emergency services might be short-handed right now due to the pandemic, but still doesn’t understand why no officers responded to her two 911 calls.

“This is a real hard thing for me,” she said. “I’m a real advocate for the police force, I really am. They need more police officers. They need more help. I have friends that are police officers, but the events of that night are really very worrisome to me.”

The woman said what was really terrifying was the audio from surveillance video that a neighbour provided to her.

“You can hear him breaking in the door and then he said, this is the scariest thing and pardon my language, but he yelled ‘you’re f——— lucky b——!’. And then you can hear our truck being damaged and he said ‘there, f—- you!’”

The woman said there has been an uptick in vehicle break-ins and property theft in her neighbourhood over the past two years, with people roaming the area every other night. She estimates her vehicles have been broken into at least 10 times.

Capital News has reached out to Kelowna RCMP for comment.

Read More: Increase in property crime prompts Kelowna RCMP to change response


@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com

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Gary Barnes

About the Author: Gary Barnes

Recently joined Kelowna Capital News and WestK News as a multimedia journalist in January 2022. With almost 30 years of experience in news reporting and radio broadcasting...
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