A Burnaby man has pleaded guilty to several burglary charges in connection to a string of break-and-enters at small businesses across Metro Vancouver late last year.
RCMP said Friday that Gordon Vincent Gladstone entered guilty pleas on Aug. 30 to nine of 12 charges, which were approved back on March 12.
Gladstone was arrested by North Vancouver RCMP members who caught him in the middle of his 12th break-in on Jan. 2 in Vancouver, police say.
Officers say they had already linked Gladstone to 11 other burglaries in North Vancouver, Delta, White Rock and Vancouver, all of which took place between Sept. 1 and Nov. 29, 2018.
At the time of the arrest, RCMP said the three-month crime spree targeted small businesses that were closed for the night.
Gladstone has been ordered to be held in prison until Jan. 22, 2020, when sentencing will begin.
“When we take a victim’s report we see how emotional it is,” North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Peter DeVries said in a statement. “It creates fear and anger, and it really hurts their sense of security. It’s really unfair.
“That’s one of the reasons we feel so motivated to identify and capture the people who do these kinds of crimes so that we can stop them from hurting people in our community.”
Police from Vancouver and Delta assisted in the investigation that led to Gladstone’s arrest.
RCMP are taking the opportunity to remind both businesses and homeowners to take precautions to protect themselves from thefts, including lighting and strong locks on doors and windows.
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