A Lantzville resident tried to take the law into his own hands after thieves stole his wallet but things didn’t quite work out as planned.
Twenty-seven-year-old Tyler Fraser-Biscoe wanted to get his belongings back after a thief broke into his truck. Among the items stolen was his wallet containing his visa card.
“I specifically didn’t report mine right away and I also kept my Visa card active that was in the wallet so that when they used the Visa, we’d be able to tell the location that they were at,” said Fraser-Biscoe.
The card was used at the Co-op gas station in downtown Nanaimo the next night but when Fraser-Biscoe and his girlfriend got there the thieves were gone.
A short time later it was used again at the 7-11 in Harewood.
Fraser-Biscoe rushed over but this time the store’s cashier told him the people who used the card were sitting in a truck outside.
He approached holding a baseball bat.
“I approached the vehicle asking for my wallet back and they were denying it and the driver said he was just giving these two a ride, a male passenger, female in the back. I asked for my Visa multiple times and that’s when the passenger then produced a knife onto the driver and told him to drive.”
The truck took off down Bruce Avenue and Fraser-Biscoe followed. His girlfriend was now on the phone with the police.
The truck pulled into a complex and the two passengers got out.
“At that point, our police dog gets involved,” said Cst. Gary O’Brien with Nanaimo RCMP.
“We track the individuals to where they were dropped off. We find some clothing they were wearing. We have a plate number of the truck and we’ve taken it from there.”
RCMP also released two pictures of the fraud suspects Friday and are asking for your help in identifying them.
It shows the two suspects outside the Victoria Crescent Co-op, taken from video surveillance, at approximately 11:35 pm on Monday, January 13th, 2020.
The suspect male is Caucasian and was wearing a blue jacket with brown sleeves. The female shown is also Caucasian and was wearing a white winter jacket with black accents, and black pants.
But police also say this isn’t the way to handle a theft. RCMP say report thefts to them immediately, cancel your credit cards and don’t confront suspects, especially with a baseball bat.
“A violent confrontation could have ensued and people could have been seriously injured and we would’ve had no knowledge of what was going on until we got there for that call,” said O’Brien.
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured.
Fraser-Biscoe is just hoping the people responsible will face justice.
In September 2018 a Nanaimo man was sentenced to prison time after taking the law into his hands and shooting out the back window of a vehicle.
Kendall Hanson
