A man who is awaiting trial on theft charges in Abbotsford has now been linked to the theft of an ATM in Chase and an attempt to steal another in Blind Bay.
Christopher Ryan Trethewey, 34, was charged with eight offences, including theft over $5,000, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and break and enter.
Salmon Arm RCMP received a report about 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday that a man had backed a trailer into the entrance of the Village Grocer on Balmoral Road and had tried to steal an automated banking machine.
He was interrupted by the business owner, and then fled, leaving the ATM behind in the parking lot.
Shortly after, a call came in that a truck had driven through the doors of a Petro Canada gas station in Chase – about 35 minutes away – and an ATM had been stolen. A witness reported seeing the vehicle drive away, dragging the machine behind it.
The suspect was then located in a nearby gravel pit, attempting to pry open the ATM.
Prior to his arrest in Chase, Trethewey was charged in Abbotsford with several offences – obstructing a police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property over $5,000, and possession of break-in instruments – in relation to an incident on Nov. 4.
On that morning, a suspect was being questioned by a police officer when he sped away in a pickup truck that did not belong to him.
The officer fired his gun, aiming for the tire. A bullet was later found embedded in the side of a nearby house, and the Abbotsford Police Department is still investigating to confirm whether it was from the single shot fired by the officer.
The man was arrested about 45 minutes later driving his own vehicle. The abandoned pickup was found off-road on Eagle Mountain.
Trethewey has pleaded guilty to two of the charges – the motor vehicle and stolen property offences – and is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 19 in Abbotsford.
He is currently in custody on the most recent charges and is slated for a bail hearing in Salmon Arm on Dec. 13.
-With files from Vikki Hopes, Abbotsford News