Taylor Eyerley says Kelowna has a crime problem. This, after he stopped a man this week from stealing a cellphone from the small business he works at.
The attempted theft took place on Thursday at Kelowna Cell Repair on Bernard Avenue. After a brief chase, the man was quickly caught by Eyerley, with fellow employee Jamie Spencer lending a hand in the apprehension.
“A guy comes into the store; he’s asking for a phone to buy. I told him we had a phone,” Eyerley told Global news. “He wanted to hold it. I told him that we can’t do that because we just recently got robbed.
“He said ‘Well, I have some cash, I really need the phone. So I said ‘Yeah.’
Eyerley said the man was running towards a getaway car on Bernard, about 150 feet up the road.
WATCH BELOW: A grab and dash happened at a Kelowna cell repair store on Thursday, but the man was apprehended just outside the business.
“I was on his heels,” said Eyerley, adding that, at the time, he didn’t know what would happen if he managed to catch the man. “They open up the door last minute for him to get in; they stopped the car so he could get in.
“I just pushed him into the door and he went right over the door and onto the cement. I held him down.”
Seconds later, Spencer joined Eyerley in pinning the suspect, with police arriving shortly after.
Eyerley said “it was instinct” to chase the man. He also said Kelowna’s streets aren’t as safe as they seem.
“I’ve lived here for five years and I can’t even let my girlfriend go for a walk downtown by herself. The people are a little bit sketchy in the area,” said Eyerley. “I’ve had my bike stolen, (my coworker) has had his bike stolen, my girlfriend’s had her bike stolen twice.
“I’m tired of it and things aren’t getting better.”
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