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The owners of a BC e-bike shop promise they won't be deterred after a shocking burglary attempt involving a large commercial truck.
The entire incident was captured on security video.
Richmond E-Bikes owner Tram Pham said her security company called her about the burglary around 2:30 a.m., and she tuned in to a live feed from her store's security cameras.
“We saw everything…We saw a dump truck drive into our unit,” she said.
“It was incredible. Shocking. The whole car crashed into our store several times.”
Surveillance video shows the truck approaching the store in the 13900 block of Maycrest Way and ramming it twice with a large dump truck before turning around and trying to reverse through the front of the store.
The suspect gets out and tries to dislodge a security fence before getting back into the truck and ramming it three more times.
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The suspect is seen trying to re-enter the store, but is unable to get past several security gates.
The vehicle was stolen from the parking lot of a nearby trucking company.
“(They) started the truck and smashed through the gate,” said Miles Timmis, owner of the Disposal King trucking company.
“He just smashed the whole thing, it's all broken – that's probably a $10,000 gate that needs to be repaired and I don't know how much damage there is to that building. Our truck is probably written off. So it's probably $200,000 worth of damage.”
Pham said RCMP were able to capture the suspect nearby with the help of a canine unit.
Richmond RCMP said Joey Antoine Maillet has since been charged with multiple offenses including burglary, theft of a motor vehicle and mischief under $5,000. He remains in custody pending a bail hearing.
“Our frontline officers acted quickly and decisively to secure the scene and arrest the suspect,” said Insp. Mike Roberts said in a statement.
“We are using every tool available – from real-time surveillance to coordinated response tactics – to deter crime in our community and ensure those who attempt it are held accountable.”
It's just the latest in a series of burglaries targeting Pham's business.
In June, a thief armed with an electric cutting tool was able to cut the windshield and steal several e-bikes and scooters.
Two months later, a thief, who Pham suspects was the same person, returned with a cement cutting tool and managed to cut out the door and metal bars to gain access and steal several more e-bikes and scooters.
In both cases, she suspects the burglaries cost the company about $20,000 in merchandise and damage.
“Every time they do that, we have to fix the lock, fix the door and add more security. So since June we added that scissor gate, which was a good thing because the car couldn't get in,” she said.
“So many people have tried to break into our store over the last 10 years, but nothing as crazy as this,” she said of the dump truck incident.
Pham said she wants to see more action from the province to address property crime, which shaves tens of thousands of dollars off her company's profits.
But she said she won't let that stop her from keeping her store open.
“This will not make us give up,” she said. “We have to move on, we have to be smarter.”
Timmis, meanwhile, said the would-be thief needs to get his priorities straight.
“Hey obviously knows how to drive a truck, so I don't know why they wouldn't just apply for a truck driving job. I think it would be easier than what he did,” he said.
“I mean, we're looking for truck drivers.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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