One man is facing charges after he was confronted and pinned down by the owners of a home he was attempting to burglarize in the Cedardale area of West Vancouver.
According to West Vancouver police, a family living on the 300 block of Macbeth Crescent was awoken around 3 a.m. on April 2 when they heard noises coming from their kitchen. They confronted a man and the suspect attempted to flee.
The homeowner, however, tackled the burglar and held him to the ground while his spouse called 911.
“It is unusual for a break and enter to occur while a home is occupied, and thankfully no one was hurt during this incident,” said Sgt. Mark McLean, West Vancouver police spokesperson. “This was alarming to the family inside who had children sleeping down the hall.”
Since the arrest, the Crown has sworn one charge of breaking and entering a home with intent to commit an offence against Wesley John Spiekermann, a Vancouver man who is well known to police. Spiekermann was on bail for an unrelated charges at the time and he remains in custody pending a court hearing on April 19.
Generally speaking, police don’t advise attempting to tackle a suspect, McLean said, as it may yield a worse outcome.
“Given that this person obviously had the ability to detain the suspect, it worked out for the best, but if someone finds themselves in that situation, what we would recommend is obviously, don’t try to physically intervene,” he said. “Simply phone the police and allow the police to deal with it.”
According to McLean, the burglar broke into the house through a partially opened window by cutting through the screen. McLean said the incident underscores the importance of keeping doors and windows secured at night, particularly as the weather warms up.
