Rebecca Watson
Caledonia Courier
The co-accused are Deryl MOORE and Matthew JONES, both from Prince George.
At 2 am on Jan. 15 a suspicious vehicle by Overwaitea’s unloading dock caught the attention of Fort St. James RCMP. As the police approached the grocery store, the truck sped off leaving an alleged partner-in-crime behind. The man on-scene was immediately arrested as he was blatantly caught with multiple items of food in the middle of the evident robbery. Within seconds of his arrest, dispatch notified the officers of a worker inside the store who had also been robbed. The police went inside to find a female custodial worker who had been put inside a walk-in freezer after the crooks stole her wallet. There she waited, nearly an hour, until she no longer herd the thieves. She was then able to get out of the freezer and call police.
“When the guy in the truck sped off we had one man in custody and had to investigate in store. We had to take one issue at a time but we had the vehicle plate. Sometimes good things happen quickly,” Sgt. Nielsen said.
Shortly after assisting the custodian, police received a report that a male suspect had approached two houses claiming ‘his truck was stuck in the ditch and he was cold’, asking the home owners to let him inside. RCMP went out to investigate and recognized the truck from Overwaitea. The male driver was arrested and both perps were taken to the Fort St. James attachment. Later, the suspects truck was indeed found stuck in the ditch by the National Historic Site.
RCMP said the two crooks got in Overwaitea through the front door which had no apparent damage with no weapons found on their person. A number of items were taken from the store including meat and other types of food with multiple items thrown around. The custodial worker was not severely harmed in the process but a freezer was damaged (separate from the freezer she was put in).
The two males are currently in custody and have since had their first appearance on Jan. 19. Their next court date is scheduled for Feb. 2 in Fort St. James. Although the Crown has not formally completed the charging process, the two will likely face charges of robbery, unlawful confinement and break-and-entering.
“We’re just thankful no one was hurt. It’s back to business as usual,” Ryan Witgez said, store manager.