A helpful call from a witness to a hit-and-run collision led Oceanside RCMP to a suspect wanted not only in the hit and run, but a pair of local thefts as well.
On Jan. 9, police responding to the witness's call were able to track down a 58-year-old Qualicum Beach man believed responsible for the collision outside the Qualicum Foods grocery store in downtown Qualicum Beach, RCMP said in a news release.
In a subsequent investigation, police determined the man crashed his van into the other vehicle while fleeing from the store after engaging in a theft of the business. RCMP additionally connected the man to another theft, of the Thrifty Foods store in Parksville on Dec. 13, 2016.
"We have the public to thank as they called the police, reported the hit and run, and were able to provide the correct licence plate number," RCMP spokesperson Jesse Foreman said in the release. "The van was the link between the suspect and the two thefts."
The suspect, who is well known to police, was released on a Promise to Appear at Nanaimo Provincial Court on Mar. 7.
— NEWS Staff/RCMP news release