A Burnaby man is facing a host of charges after North Vancouver RCMP linked him to a string of burglaries around the Lower Mainland.
Between Sept. 2018 and January 2019, police agencies between North Vancouver and White Rock noted 11 overnight break-ins with a similar M.O.
In each of the cases, the suspect targeted street level commercial businesses when they were closed down for the night: Among the victim businesses: A vape shop, a Pilates studio and a pet food store.
As with most interjurisdictional crimes, investigators began comparing notes via the Real-Time Intelligence Centre at RCMP headquarters in Surrey in hopes it would lead to a suspect.
“There is a very fluid and quick way that information is disseminated and shared between departments and very often other agencies and departments will notice things in the bulletins they put out. They may know a person that we don’t yet know,” said Sgt. Peter Devries, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Eventually, police were led to a suspect who they began to tail. On Jan. 3, North Vancouver RCMP arrested him in the middle of an alleged burglary in Vancouver.
The Crown has now sworn 12 counts of burglary against 42-year-old Gordon Vincent Gladstone.
“Small business owners work hard to make a go of things, and they’re a really important part of North Van’s community,” DeVries said. “Now they have one less thing to worry about.”
DeVries could not say what the suspect made off with in each of the burglaries.
Gladstone remains in custody and is due back in court on Monday.
