16 May 2012 – 1935 hours – Burnside Road – A Victoria man learned the hard way that when buying a car, the job isn’t over until the paperwork is done.

A traffic officer was parked on the roadside and checked the licence plate of a passing vehicle which came back as a possible hit registered to a prohibited driver.

When the vehicle was stopped on Jutland Road the officer learned that the man driving the car was not the prohibited registered owner associated to the licence plate.

However, the driver told the officer he had just borrowed some licence plates from another vehicle and had them on this car so he could move the vehicle which he had just purchased from someone else. The man was unable to produce any transfer papers verfiying this story nor did he have a driver’s licence with him.

The officer then checked the car’s serial number and found that it was still in fact registered to someone other than the driver and that the original insurance on the vehicle had been cancelled since March. In checking the name of the driver the officer found that he did not have a valid driver’s licence. In addition the records showed that the was two be served with two outstanding driving prohibitions from the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.

The man was issued violation tickets for no driver’s licence, no vehicle insurance and displaying a wrong number plate in addition to the two driving prohibitions.

The vehicle was towed from the scene with a caution that all transfer paperwork would have to be properly completed before the vehicle could be driven on the street.

16 May 2012 – 0500 hours – Empress Ave – The complainant was awakened and called in concerned for the welfare of another tenant who lived in the basement suite of their building. The complainant could hear moaning and yelling coming from the suspect’s suite.

When officers arrived they could also hear low moaning and babbling coming from inside the suite.

Eventually after repeated and knocks and announcements by the officers a man opened the door.

When questioned about the amount of noise he was making the man explained that he had been essentially (in his own different words) on the toilet having his morning constitutional but he was done now.

The officers asked him to try to keep the noise down in such future endeavours and he said he would do his best.

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13 May 2012 – 2352 hours – Shelbourne Ave – Officers responded to a domestic dispute in progress. Concerned neighbours called in reporting that a man inside a nearby residence was yelling at a woman: “B#%@TCH…I’m going to kill you…!! The tone of voice was reported as angry and threatening. When the officers arrived they could in fact hear a man inside yelling the “B” word repeatedly from an upper suite within the residence.

The officers pounded on the door for several minutes trying to gain access without success or response from anyone inside. While standing outside one of the officers noted that the light in the suite went out which raised more concern as we had been there recently for similar issues.

With consent of the supervisor, officers tried to break into the suite fearing that a life was in danger. The officers made several attempts to break the door down, waking most of the neighbourhood in the process. But the sturdy metal construction of the door and frame proved to be too much of a challenge. Mechanical door spreaders were then brought to the scene and applied to the door frame which when popped open eventually allowed the officers entry inside.

The officers made several announcements once they were inside, none of which met with any response. As they moved through the residence one officer spotted a light on in one of the bedrooms. Looking through the half-opened door they observed no vicious assault but a young male seated in front of a computer playing a video game, head phones firmly in place.

The officers moved right into the room next to the young man who continued and one officer had to yell at him at point-blank range before he finally clued in and moved out of his computer role play into a real life one, with three cops suddenly standing in his bedroom.

After interviewing the young man he confirmed that he was so engrossed in his game activity that he was yelling the “B” word as part of his role play. He told the officers that he was alone in the house, which they confirmed to be the case.

Satisfied that there was no crime occurring, the officers including the duty staff sergeant, assisted in repairing the door before they cleared the call. Unfortunately the report did not indicate which game it was that evoked this level of user intensity.

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06 May 2012 – 0022 hours – Beacon Hill lookout – Arson is suspected by investigating officers after the Victoria Fire Department was called to extinguish a small blaze on the roof of the historic structure. When police officers arrived VFD was already on scene suppressing a small blaze which burned a small patch on the cedar shingle roof on the south side of the building.

A couple was out walking their dogs when they saw the flames just after midnight. They reported seeing no one in the area or any other suspicious activity. Officers checked the perimeter of the building and surrounding area but did not find anything else out of the ordinary.

VFD crews confirmed the fire had been deliberately set and mirrored a similar incident four months ago. No suspects were uncovered at that time either. The damage on this occasion burned a hole in the roof around 2 square feet.

If you are aware who might be responsible for these attacks please call Crimestoppers.

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30 April 2012 – 2045 hours – Pandora and Belmont – A man was driving through the intersection when he was nearly struck by a skateboarder. The man rolled down his window and had an argument about the close encounter with the boarder – which quickly degenerated as the boarder then proceeded to smash the side mirror off of the witnesses’s car. The suspect then rolled off.

The suspect is described as a white male, 18 to 23 years. he was 6 feet tall with a medium build  and was wearing a blue hoodie with dark pants.

Officers circulated in the area but were unable to locate the suspect.

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30 April 2012 – 1400 hours – Pandora Ave – A witness went into the storage locker area of an apartment building in order to clean the floors and discovered that his entry into the area interrupted a suspect who had broken into at least 10 storage lockers.

As the witnessed entered he observed that the entrance door to the locker area had been damaged. The suspect was still inside and fled out of another door and into the nearby underground parkade. The witness followed the escaping suspect.

The witness followed the suspect for several minutes through downtown streets until he ran into a friend and was able to use the friend’s cellphone to call VicPD. Once a description of the suspect was obtained several units were dispatched to the area to locate the suspect.

The suspect was nabbed by two officers in the 500 Block Pandora after he had cut through Market Square. Numerous pieces of evidence were found on the suspect when he was searched after his arrest. The arresting officers also found a knife tucked into one of the suspect’s socks.

Back at the break and enter scene the investigating officer found the doorway into the locker area had been pried open and the door knob broken off. Once inside the suspect managed to force open 10 or so lockers and remove some of the goods from inside.

After being processed the suspect was released on a promise to appear in court for around one month from now.

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02 April 2012 – 0442 hours – Richmond Ave – A woman awoke when she heard someone trying to access a window to her apartment. When she looked out she saw a man walking away through the bushes near the window and out onto the street. Remaining calm the woman promptly called 9-1-1 which led to a quick arrest.

Several units, including K9, responded to the call and located a man matching the suspect’s description about a block away. He was placed under arrest and a check on him revealled he was already on probation for assault and bound by a curfew which prohibited him from being out between 1000 PM and 600 AM.

The man has a lengthy history with VicPD much of which relates to mental health issues.

He was lodged in cells for AM court on charges of trespassing at night and breach of probation. The suspect is 55 years old and of no fixed address.

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31 March 2012 – 1623 hours – Lampson and Devonshire – A call came in about a fight between a man and a woman on the corner of these streets. There was a report that the female involved had blood covering her face and that the male who was with her was bleeding from the hand.

Witnesses advised the officers that they had the two suspects coming along the railway tracks paralleling Devonshire Rd, involved in a verbal and physical altercation. The two suspects split up momentarily and the male half of the incident began yelling at passing cars.

Another witness said that when he tried to intervene in the incident the male suspect pulled a knife out of his pocket and told him to back off.

Both suspects were taken into custody a short distance away and found to be very intoxicated. They found the male suspect in fact bleeding heavily from the knuckles on one hand. The woman’s face was also bloodied.

It seems that this incident began over the loss of an iPod. After consuming multiple shots of whiskey through the day the male suspect believed his female companion was carrying his iPod for him. When he asked to have it returned, she said she didn’t have it and probably dropped it. Predictably an argument broke out. The male became angry enough at one point over the loss of the iPod that he punched a nearby sign splitting his hand open in the process.

For some reason, probably connected to the alcohol, the woman then became upset because her companion had cut open his and offered condolences by hitting him in the head a few times. The man then pushed back, smearing blood from his wounded hand all over her face.

Ironically, after the pair were arrested and their effects searched, the iPod at the root of trouble was located in the woman’s back pack.

While being escorted to hospital for a check-up the woman told the officers that she had also punched out her companion a year ago, but since then they had become friends.

It was discovered on route to the hospital that the woman had a warrant for her arrest from Westshore RCMP for breaching a conditional sentence order. While being treated at hospital the woman tried to make a dash for it but was nabbed again by the officers with assistance from hospital security. She was eventually lodged at Westshore for the evening.

Witnesses are still being spoken to while the officers contemplate charges.

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03 April 2012 – Yates Street – 0255 hours – We received a call about a large group of males fighting outside the Lucky Bar. The report stated that one person had been sucker punched and was apparently unconscious.

In theory the suspects involved should not have been hard to locate as two of them were carrying sports trophies. Sure enough one of the responding units located a group of males in the 600 Block Yates, two of whom were trophy laden. They advised that they were hockey players the western communities and were celebrating a hard fought tournament win, apparently by doing some more fighting.

As the officers were obtaining the details of the suspects a further description was broadcast over the radio providing descriptions matching the same men the officers were talking with. Hearing their own descriptions over the radio there was a moment of “the gig is up” style laughter amongst the group. A further broadcast came over indicating that the suspect responsible for the actual punch had lost his shoe at the scene. Everyone of course glances down “footward” and suddenly one of the men standing there without any shoes on is now feeling somewhat companionless.

Confirming the age old legal principle that… “flight is associated to guilt”…the shoeless suspect briefly uttered a classic: “F— this! I’m out of here”, and took off running east on Yates, a female officer giving chase.

The foot chase wound around Yates to Douglas to Pandora where the suspect went into Centennial Square.  Other officers arrived to help and the suspect was cut off and taken into custody.

The 24 year old victim of the assault was taken to Royal Jubilee for treatment of head injuries as a result of his head hitting the ground after being knocked out. There is no update on his condition yet.

A 22 year old man from Sooke has been charged with assault causing bodily harm. He was released on a promise to appear in court for around one month from now.

31 March 2012 – 0130 hours – Several units responded to a complaint of a possible break and enter in progress at a neighbourhood school.

A security guard on his rounds observed three youths on the roof of the school and when they were spotted they took off down a stairs case and fled east on Richardson Street. The guard was concerned that this might have been an attempted break-in.

Oak Bay Police were contacted to assist and one of their units eventually found the trio near the Oak Bay border. When questioned they said they had gone up onto the roof for fun, which appears to be the case as no evidence of an attempt B&E was uncovered.

All of them were however issued violation tickets for being minors in possession of liquor. After the tickets were issued the trio were sent home.