Unwanted live-in guests arrested after RV owners spot unusual activity
Saanich police say one suspect discovered naked inside RV living undetected for 'a few days'
Police on Vancouver Island are warning owners of recreational vehicles and campers after Saanich police arrested two men in connection with two separate and unusual RV break-ins.
Sgt. Julie Fast with Saanich police said the two incidents happened on July 3 and resulted in arrests and charges against both men.
Fast said the first happened late Wednesday night.
"At about 10 at night, we had a homeowner look out the window and see a naked man in their yard. Looked like he was turning on the garden hose, and then he went into a parked motor home on their property and closed the door like he lived there."
Caught naked
Fast said the homeowner, not wanting to take any chances, called the police. When officers opened the motorhome door, they found the man, still naked, inside.
"By all appearances, it looked like he had been living in the RV for at least a few days," said Fast.
Randy Cartwright, 21, of Victoria was arrested and charged with break and enter.
Court documents show he's faced several other charges in the past few months, including theft and public mischief.
At the time of his arrest, he was out on bail on the previous charges.
Back-to-back discoveries
About 30 minutes after the first arrest, police were called to another Saanich property for a similar report.
This time, the owner had just returned from vacation to find their truck camper door open, and many unfamiliar belongings inside. Fast said the homeowner then attached an alarm to the camper.
"[The homeowner] closed the door, went back inside, and waited for the alarm to go off. It went off at about 10:30 that night, which indicated there was movement inside the camper, and he called us."
In this instance, the suspect resisted police by holding the door closed, but only until one of the officers brought in the police service dog.
"That prompted the person inside the camper to pretty rapidly open the door and surrender himself [...] it's a convincing bark," Fast said.
The suspect in that case is 20-year-old Victoria man Jesse Juba. He is charged with break and enter and was also wanted on six outstanding warrants.