Man arrested after vandalism spree
In about two hours, a man vandalized 80 cars in North Surrey, causing more damage than police have seen in one sweep.
Surrey RCMP have arrested and recommended charges against a 41-year-old man for allegedly going on a spree of slashing tires and keying cars at Surrey SkyTrain stations at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
The man has a history of property crime and drug offenses, police say.
Surrey RCMP Cpl. Drew Grainger said witnesses first saw the man near Surrey Central SkyTrain station causing damage to vehicles as he wandered through.
Police were called, and by the time they arrived, the man was gone.
"We were trying to catch up to him as he was (allegedly) doing this little crime spree in the area of 104 and King George," Grainger said.
The cat and mouse went on for a couple of hours until RCMP caught up with the man at Scott Road SkyTrain station.
"We're looking at about 80 cars now that we've identified that have been vandalized," Grainger said, noting that the damage is in the tens of thousands of dollars damage.
Police have recommended charges of mischief against the man and he was scheduled to appear in Surrey provincial court Wednesday.
If he's found guilty of the recommended charges, he could face a maximum of six months in jail and or a $5,000 fine.
It's expected ICBC will be pursuing a cost recovery of the damage to the vehicles.
Anyone with information about the incident, or had their car vandalized and have not yet spoken to police, can call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.
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