POLICE BEAT: Resident captures man red-handed, makes citizen’s arrest
By Erin Perkins
A Grand Forks resident took the law into his own hands when he made a citizen’s arrest to a man he caught stealing two toolboxes from a home on 5th Street in Grand Forks.
Grand Forks RCMP arrived on scene Monday, Feb. 11 at 4:02 p.m. after receiving the call for a theft in progress, said Grand Forks RCMP staff sergeant Jim Harrison.
When they got there, police found the 52 year-old Grand Forks man was in the custody of a citizen and they then re-arrested him and released on the promise to appear.
The man had two toolboxes in his possession worth approximately $100, said Harrison.
“He’s been a person of interest for quite some time,” said Harrison. “We take our hats off to the citizen who apprehended him. This person helped us and helped his neighbours.”
While what the citizen did was brave and appreciated by local police, Harrison warns residents to be cautious when trying to stop a crime or apprehend a criminal.
If you don’t want to apprehend the person yourself, Harrison advises calling 911 and then keeping the person in your sight so that you can lead police to him or her.
“It is your legal right (to protect your property),” said Harrison. “And we support them with that and also thank them … But common sense needs to be used when it comes to safety.”
Petty thief receives 110 days in jail for seven counts
Jarrod Kinakin, a 29 year-old Grand Forks man with no fixed address, was sentenced to 110 days in the Kamloops Regional Correctional Center for his connection to months of petty vehicle thefts in Grand Forks.
Kinakin was found guilty of seven counts, including break and enter, breach of probation and possession of stolen property.
Police arrested Kinakin on Wednesday, Jan. 30 and he was found guilty in connection with the multiple break and enters that happened in Grand Forks in late January. He was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 14. They’d found Kinakin squatting in a van parked in someone’s carport in Grand Forks and had both drugs and weapons in his possession. He had only recently been released from prison after serving a short term for similar thefts that occurred in Grand Forks in 2011.
“We believe he was responsible for quite a few thefts,” said Harrison. “But he wasn’t the only person involved.”
So the investigation continues.
Christina Lake woman survives black ice accident
A 57 year-old Christina Lake woman rolled her 2007 Toyota Camry on Highway 3 after the inclement weather experienced on Saturday, Feb. 16.
Grand Forks RCMP attended the scene of the accident – located five kilometers east of Grand Forks on Highway 3 – at 7:39 p.m.
“The road was very icy and there was dense fog,” said Harrison.
The woman was not injured, although she was transported to Boundary Regional Hospital to be looked over before being released.
Police looking for missing Toyota stolen from Christina Lake
Grand Forks RCMP are looking for a 1997 black Toyota 4Runner with a license plate DEB 941 that was stolen from a property on Sunset Drive in Christina Lake.
The vehicle had been parked on the property, was locked and uninsured, said Harrison.
Although it was reported stolen on Friday, Feb. 15, it was stolen seven or 10 days prior to the report being filed. The owner had noticed it was gone on the Thursday afternoon.
“It is unusual to have a vehicle theft (in this area),” said Harrison, which is what made the investigation particularly noteworthy.
