Wilkie RCMP thank residents who helped foil pharmacy break-in

RCMP in Wilkie credit residents with helping foil a break-in at a local drugstore last week.

On Sept. 17 at around 10:30 p.m., a man from Wilkie, who did not want to be named, said his neighbour came over saying he saw a suspicious truck driving around the small town.

Coming off of an incident where his home was vandalized, the man and his neighbour got into a truck and tracked the suspicious vehicle to the Wilkie Pharmacy.

“We went downtown there and I noticed the lady standing there with her cellphone and I turned and looked at the pharmacy and noticed a hole in the window,” the man told News Talk Radio.

“At that point I sort of made some noise on the street thinking they would run out the back so I drove around back and blocked them in with my truck so they couldn’t get out,” he said.

He then raced back to the front of the pharmacy where he grabbed one of the alleged thieves as he crawled through the broken window, blocking a second suspect inside the store. The men stayed on top of the alleged robbers keeping them pinned to the ground until Wilkie RCMP showed up and arrested them.

The man said he’s noticed a spike in crime in Wilkie and he was just doing his part to make sure his neighbours were safe.

“In retrospect, some people would say that I wasn’t that smart but to me that’s the right thing to do and I hope someone else would do the same if they saw someone breaking into my place,” he said.

Richard David Bear, 26, of North Battleford was arrested by RCMP.

Shortly before the incident, a homeowner had confronted a similarly dressed burglar trying to steal two golf bags from a shed.

Another man, 24-year-old Joshua Roy Tucker of Cochin, was trapped inside and arrested.

A third suspect was located later. Angel Lee Bear, 25, of North Battleford was found by police in a truck taken from North Battleford without the consent of the owner.

The suspects are facing numerous charges including break and enter, commit theft, possession of break and enter instruments and wearing a disguise with intent.

Police say the actions of the residents prevented the thieves from leaving with between $20,000 to $30,000 worth of drugs from the pharmacy that had been put into bag.

Wilkie RCMP Sgt. Grant Rusk said the detachment is looking into what forms of public recognition they have for the two brave residents.