Better to lock it than lose it

Four incidents Monday morning in Penticton paint a vivid picture of the need for residents to secure their homes and valuables.

Penticton RCMP spokesman Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth said officers were first called to a home on South Main Street around 7:30 a.m. to a report of a wallet, change and cellphone being taken after someone entered the residence through a patio door that had been left open overnight for ventilation.

At 9 a.m., a resident of Kingfisher Drive called police to report someone had gone into his unlocked garage and taken a wallet and keys from his vehicle. A man and woman with a large dog had been spotted running from the yard two hours earlier.

Just before 10 a.m., a man called from the Empire Motel on Skaha Lake Road to report someone had broken into his truck overnight and stolen a wallet containing identification and credit cards.

And at 10:30 a.m., a resident of Victoria Drive reported someone had gone into his unlocked garage and stolen tools, a kid’s bike and other items.

As it turned out, police already had a man in custody on an unrelated matter who was arrested with some of the things taken from the Victoria Drive garage. The 24-year-old has since been charged with possession of stolen property. The three other cases remain under investigation.