A North Vancouver man has been convicted of a handful of property-crime offences.
Shane Davidson was convicted in January of three counts of burglary, one count of assault and one count of theft under $5,000, according to RCMP.
RCMP say he entered stores during business hours, made his way into the ceiling and then hid there, sometimes for hours, until the store closed.
Once the business was empty, he would cut his way out of the ceiling, grab any valuables and break out of the business.
In one frightening encounter, he came across an employee in the cash room of a business at around 5 a.m.
“An employee walked into the cash room around 5 a.m,” said North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Peter DeVries in a statement.
“There he was, standing in the dark. Imagine how terrifying that was for her.”
RCMP say Davidson physically assaulted the employee after she screamed in shock.
Police recommended charges last February, two of them under a less commonly used section of the criminal code: breaking out of a place after committing an offence while inside.
A judge has remanded Davidson until his sentencing hearing on April 29 at the Vancouver law courts. He has been in custody since May.