N.S. man faces 21 charges after arson, break and enter ‘crime spree:’ RCMP

A Nova Scotia man is facing 21 charges after what police are calling an “arson and break and enter crime spree.”

RCMP say they responded to a break and enter in progress on Stanford Lake Road in Chester just after midnight on Sunday. The occupants of the home found a man who had broken in and was trying to steal their belongings. They confronted the suspect, who ran away.

READ: Dartmouth man faces 32 charges in connection with 10 break-ins

Evidence from the scene suggested the suspect had also attempted an arson at the home.

When police arrived, they found that a detached garage next door was on fire. Officers forced their way into the home that was close to the garage to get the residents out. But, they found the house was unoccupied and had also been broken into.

“While police were in the home, the garage collapsed, falling close to members, forcing them to retreat from the home,” RCMP said in a news release.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "While police were in the home, the garage collapsed, falling close to members, forcing them to retreat from the home," RCMP said in a news release.

Police say they found an unoccupied vehicle not far from that home that had gone off the road. They determined the vehicle was connected to the incidents.

Around the same time, police received a 911 call reporting a man was trying to force his way into a home not far from the fire scene. There was a confrontation with the occupants of that house and the suspect fled into the woods.

READ: Thieves target unoccupied N.S. cottages: RCMP

An hour later, there was yet another report of a man breaking into a home. When officers arrived at the scene on Mallard Lane, David Douglas Smith, 29, was arrested while allegedly trying to flee with stolen goods.

“He violently resisted arrest and was apprehended with assistance from the RCMP Police Dog Service. ‎Evidence indicated that the suspect had attempted to start a fire in that residence as well,” police said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He violently resisted arrest and was apprehended with assistance from the RCMP Police Dog Service. ‎Evidence indicated that the suspect had attempted to start a fire in that residence as well," police said.

Smith, who is from Simms Settlement, has been charged with 21 offences, ranging from break and enter to arson endangering life and assault of police officers.

Additional charges are expected.

He is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear in Bridgewater Provincial Court on April 3.

RCMP say the stolen items have been recovered and there were no serious injuries.

The investigation continues with the RCMP and the Nova Scotia Office of the Fire Marshal.

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