Suspect in Salmon Arm break-and-enter confrontation faces charges

The person arrested following a break-and-enter early New Year’s Day at a home on Fourth Avenue SE in Salmon Arm faces two charges.

Identified as a youth from Salmon Arm, he faces charges of break and enter and possession of stolen property.

City councillor Kevin Flynn told the Observer how he woke up about 3 a.m. on Jan. 1 to find an intruder in his living room. He yelled at the man who ran from his house, taking wallets, credit cards, cash and a set of vehicle keys with him.

A short time later a nearby resident, Kevin New, heard his garage door open. When he went downstairs to check, he found no one.

However, the next morning, Flynn spoke to the News, having followed the intruder’s footprints. New checked the house surveillance camera and discovered a lot of activity, including someone inside one of his family’s vehicles, as well as checking under the door mat, apparently looking for a house key. He also saw police searching in the vicinity of the house twice after the vehicle break-in.

Read more: Salmon Arm RCMP nab break-and-enter suspect after chase from living room

Both men said police arrested a suspect on Okanagan Avenue. Flynn and his spouse were able to recover the stolen property not seized by police after several hours of searching in the snow. Flynn and New both expressed appreciation for the good police work.

Staff Sgt. Scott West said that as a result of the investigation, the suspect was connected to another residential break-in which was not discovered until 10 a.m. on Jan. 1.

“In this incident keys and tools from a vehicle were taken from inside a home on 21st Street SE in Salmon Arm.”

West said police responded to 27 complaints from 1 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2020 to 1 p.m. Jan. 1, 2021. They included assaults and various disturbances, as well as the break and enter on Fourth Avenue.