Suspects arrested for damaging parking meters

Feb 13, 2020 | 1:30 PM

Two men have been arrested for breaking into parking meters in separate incidents in Vernon.

A 39-year-old man was arrested Wednesday night after a citizen called police after seeing someone breaking into a meter on 30th Street.

“While on the phone with the telecom operator, the witness provided updates on the man’s location and police were able to make an arrest within minutes of the call. In addition to facing charges of mischief and theft, a 39-year-old man from Vernon was in violation of conditions of a previous release order where he is not to be within one meter of a parking meter and not to possess break in instruments,” RCMP Cpl. Tania Finn said.

But around 4:30 a.m. this morning another resident reported a suspicious man breaking into parking meters on Centennial Drive.

“The citizen had seen the man in the area the day before and was suspicious of his activity. Within minutes, police arrived and arrested a 35-year-old man from Vernon who was in possession of a home-made device used to retrieve coins from the meters. The man will appear in court on charges of mischief, theft and fail to comply with a probation order,” Finn added.

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Police are thanking the public for reporting suspicious activity.

“It takes a team effort to mitigate crime in the downtown core of Vernon. Police cannot be everywhere to see crime as it happens,” Finn, a Media Relations Officer for the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, said. “We are appreciative of those who take the time to call us when they witness a crime or observe something they feel a police officer should check out.”

A number of parking meters have been damaged the last while.

The repair cost for the meters is not yet known, the city’s spokesperson Christy Poirier said.

“We do not have a total cost for repairs yet, as it is dependent on the damage to each individual unit,” Poirier told Vernon Matters. “However, traffic staff is making repairs to the meter system as time permits.”

Damage to parking meters can be costly.

In September 2017, police reported 83 busted meters in Vernon costing between $25 to $300 each to repair.

Poirer did not specify how many meters were broken, but added there’s been devices damaged on several streets.

by Pete McIntyre and Kate Bouey

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