The Victoria Police Department has arrested a man following a “crime spree” which included the assault of a City of Victoria staff member, the smashing of several business windows and the assault of a police officer.
According to police, the crime spree took place in the early hours of Thursday morning, beginning at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Victoria Police say that the series of incidents began at Centennial Square when the man, bloodied for an unknown reason, assaulted a City of Victoria staff member by wiping blood on their back.
Police say that the suspect proceeded to leave Centennial Square and headed to the 500-block of Johnson Street.
On Johnson Street, police say the man smashed the window of a business, caused significant damage to a vehicle parked in the 500-block, and wiped more blood on a City of Victoria garbage truck in the vicinity.
Police say they began receiving reports about the man’s crime spree while he was on Johnson Street.
The suspect proceeded to the 1300-block of Government Street, smashing two more windows of businesses in the area.
Officers say they were able to locate the suspect while he was still in the 1300-block of Government Street.
When police moved to arrest the man, he refused to surrender, according to a VicPD press release.
Police note that the man physically fought to resist arrest, assaulting an officer in the process. The officer, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries and did not require medical treatment, deployed a conducted energy weapon to take the man into custody.
According to VicPD, the suspect was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries before being transported to VicPD headquarters to be held in custody.
Police say he faces recommended charges of assault and assaulting a police officer, as well as three counts of mischief under $5,000 and one count of mischief over $5,000.
This file remains under investigation, and anyone with information about the crime spree is being asked to call the VicPD Report Desk at (250) 995-7654, extension 1.
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Graham Cox
