A man has been charged in relation to a break-in at an evacuated residence following a house explosion and fire in northeast Calgary last month.
On March 30 at around 1:45 p.m., a woman and her husband were returning to their house in the 700 block of Maryvale Way N.E. after a house explosion sent 10 people to hospital and damaged other houses several days earlier.
When they arrived, they confronted a man who was leaving their home, who claimed to be a security guard. The man then quickly fled the area, police said.
When the woman and her husband entered the home, they saw evidence of an alleged break-in and called the police.
Police said several pieces of jewelry were taken during the alleged break-in. This includes nine gold chains with various pendants, a ruby ring, opal earrings, a Swarovski pendant with matching earrings, pear earrings, a pearl pendant, a jade ring pendant and silver chains.
Police said photos of the jewelry are not available.
According to police, weeks later, officers caught the alleged thief red-handed at the scene of another crime.
On Monday at around 3 a.m., police were responded to calls for a break-and-enter at Village Square Leisure Centre, located at 2623 56 St. N.E. Police arrested one suspect at the scene.
According to a news release, the Calgary Police Service believed the suspect is linked to the residential break-in last month.
The suspect was also believed to be linked to a vehicle theft on Feb. 15 and an incident involving the possession of an illegal weapon on April 22.
Daniel Riley Johnson, 53, was charged with:
- Two counts of break and enter
- One count of theft over $5,000
- One count of possession of break-in instruments
- One count of unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon
- One count of carrying a concealed weapon
- One count of disguise with intent
- One count of driving an uninsured motor vehicle on a highway
- One count of driving while disqualified or prohibited
Additional charges are pending, police said. Johnson is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.