Students and staff at Cedar Grove Elementary School got an unexpected day off Wednesday, Jan. 13, after a break-in forced a one-day closure of the school.
Sunshine Coast RCMP responded to an alarm call at the school in Gibsons at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. Officers arrived on scene to find a smashed exterior window on the west side of the building. Police entered the school and observed multiple broken windows and doors throughout the building, as the suspect had broken into several rooms.
Cpl. Murray McNeil said police located a man hiding in a nearby wooded area, who tried to flee the scene when police approached.
McNeil said the suspect dropped a DVD player and a television as he attempted to escape.
"The male was arrested after a foot chase through the underbrush," McNeil said. "A 19-year-old Gibsons man was arrested at the scene. He is currently in custody."
Jonah Richard Marr made his first appearance in Sechelt provincial court Wednesday afternoon. He was charged with two counts of break and enter, one count of mischief and one count of possession of stolen property.
McNeil said Marr was released from custody following his court appearance.
Besides Wednesday's break-in, McNeil said the charges against Marr are also in connection to another break-in at the school the previous night on Tuesday, when the school was entered through a broken window. In that instance, a laptop and desktop computer were stolen.
The RCMP forensic investigation team from North Vancouver arrived on the Coast Wednesday and were at the school throughout the morning.
School District No. 46 superintendent Deborah Palmer said classes were cancelled for the day to allow police time to complete their investigation and allow maintenance crews time to clean the school and repair the damage. The school re-opened Thursday morning.
