RCMP are confident that they may have caught the person responsible for a series of recent break-and-enters in Oliver.

Officers responded to three different break-and-enters in the early hours of Sunday morning, Feb. 5. While patrolling the area after the third incident, police located a man on a bike who attempted to flee from the officers.

“In a short time span, one person is suspected to have committed three break and enters in our small community. I commend the officers who were working during the early hours of Sunday morning for apprehending this person who has caused so much damage in Oliver,” said Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth.

The first incident was reported at a business in the 200 block of Fairview Road, where the commercial alarm was triggered just after 3 a.m. A large rock appeared to have been through a window, and drawers and cabinets had been rummaged through.

Just a half-hour later, another alarm went off, this time for a business in the 5800 block of Main Street. Another window had been broken and a small amount of cash and other items were taken.

During the investigation of the other break-ins, officers on patrol spotted a broken window in the front door of the A&W Restaurant on Main Street. When officers opened the door to clear the building, an audible alarm went off.

This is when officers discovered a suspicious person on a bicycle. The man was taken into custody and found to be in possession of items that linked him to the break-ins.

READ MORE: Oliver in midst of crime wave as break-ins continue

After a bail hearing the 43-year-old Oliver man has been remanded into custody and will appear in Penticton Provincial Court.

Follow-up investigation is being conducted at the businesses where evidence has been seized including video, fingerprints and DNA samples.

“These break-and-enters have been a real scourge to our community since early October and there is a lot of evidence that has been gathered that I anticipate will link this same male to a number of those crimes,” said Wrigglesworth.

In the space of a month, there were about 16 reported break-and-enters in and around Oliver, with two individuals arrested in early November.

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