Victoria BC – Quick action by West Shore RCMP appears
to have closed a caper that was recent front-page news – and took a Victoria
man responsible for a one-man nautical crime spree off our waterways.
A local citizen called police after spying suspiciously poor
seamanship aboard a watercraft she recognized. Upon attending Portage inlet
along the 100-block of Island Highway in View Royal, West Shore RCMP officers
hailed the vessel from the shore. The male told the investigating RCMP officers
that he had “borrowed” the $50,000 watercraft to go fishing, but could not
recall the phone number of the owner. Upon further questioning, the male
identified himself to the RCMP officers on scene and then suggested the boat
belonged to yet a different friend who had lent it to him.
With the View Royal Fire Department on scene to assist
RCMP officers, they made their way to the crippled vessel. There they
discovered the vessel was indeed stolen and that the male attempting to pilot
the watercraft had fouled the propeller with a line while fleeing, injuring
himself as the boat came to an unexpected halt. The male was also in breach of
several court ordered conditions, which include a prohibition on operating any motorized
vehicle.
While the male was treated for the minor injuries sustained
in his boating mishap, RCMP officers then recognized him as a person of
interest from another nautical caper – a January 27th boat break and
enter captured on video by a vigilant citizen. In that case, an amateur sleuth
forwarded video footage that captured of a male entering his boat and making
off with the surveillance camera itself. A still image from that video was
featured on the front page of local newspapers and many media outlets. The
attending RCMP officers noted the striking similarities between the subject of
the surveillance video and their suspect.
Darrell Martin Tychuk is in custody and charged in
connection with taking the boat without permission. It is believed that Mr.
Tychuk may be involved in the January 27th break and enter incident.
Further investigation is on-going.
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