Vancouver police arrest man accused of breaking into 2 women’s homes with a knife

Vancouver police have arrested a suspect in a pair of terrifying home invasions in the Yaletown neighbourhood.

In both cases, the suspect is alleged to have brandished a knife.

Karen Thibodeau was asleep in her ground-floor unit near Pacific Boulevard and Cambie Street around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday when she awoke to a noise in her home.

1:45 Yaletown woman confronted by man with knife in her own home

“There was a man right at the head of my bed beside me, I sat up, I screamed a few times,” she told Global News.

“He jumped back and he told me to be quiet and that he had a knife and he would use it if I didn’t be quiet.”

The man wanted her cellphone, but Thibodeau said she hid it under the bedcovers and told him she didn’t know where it was.

She then convinced him to let her wait in the her bathroom while he took what he wanted from the home and left.

Thibodeau phoned 911 as soon as the man was gone, and said police arrived within about 10 minutes.

Vancouver police Const. Tania Visintin said officers were able to track the man down nearby.

“This is probably somebody’s worst nightmare, waking up to an unwanted person in your home. I can’t even imagine what these two victims have gone through,” she said.

2:08 Growing concern about crime and disorder in downtown Vancouver

Wednesday’s break-in happened just weeks after a similar incident at another Yaletown townhouse.

That incident happened around 3 a.m. on Sept. 3, near Nelson and Richards streets.

The female victim told Global News she woke to find a man in her house carrying a knife and holding some of her belongings.

The man fled, and despite the use of a K9 unit, police were unable to track him down.

Visintin said after interviewing the suspect on Wednesday, police were able to link him to both break-ins.

The suspect remains in custody, and police are recommending charges in both cases.