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Penticton couple aid police in arrest of car thief

Police recover stolen vehicle in Kaleden after Penticton couple follows car
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Police cruisers descend on a Kaleden neighbourhood Wednesday afternoon to apprehend a car thief.

A Penticton couple can take partial credit - along with the police - after a car thief was apprehended in Kaleden on tehi afternoon of Wednesday, June 26.

Around 6 p.m., several police cruisers descended on an address at the south end of Juniper Avenue in Penticton. Entering a detached garage at one of the residences, police apprehended a man alleged to have stolen a vehicle in Penticton a week earlier.

The car  thief was caught after the Penticton couple (who wish to remain anonymous) saw the  man entering the vehicle, a 2013 Subaru, at the parking lot in front of Cobb’s Bakery in Penticton. They recognized the vehicle as one stolen from a friend of theirs a week earlier.

“We called our friend to confirm the plates, got back in our car and followed him,” said the man, “ while I was driving, my wife phoned the police.”

They followed the car to Kaleden, all the while providing police with location details.

“ We thought we’d lost him on Ash Avenue,” the man continued, “ we slowed down to make sure he didn’t duck into a driveway along the road. Then we spotted the car on Arlayne Drive.”

Police arrived on scene moments later. The two were able to direct the police to a nearby residence on Juniper Avenue tha man driving the stolen car had gone.

RCMP attended the residence and spoke with the resident who was not aware of the man in her residence. Police then entered the  house and found a man in a bedroom matching the description of the driver of the stolen vehicle.

The male was arrested without further incident. He was, in fact, known to the female resident of the home.

Inside the stolen vehicle was a quantity of hard liquor and items related to an earlier break and enter at the Naramata store that had been reported to police on June 26.

The male arrested has been identified as  42 year old Nicholas Paul Mazzone of Surrey, B.C. He has been charged with break, enter and theft and two counts of possession of stolen property.  Mazzone has been remanded in custody until July 3.

Other charges may be pending related to other crimes in the Okanagan valley.