Prince George, B.C. –  An arrest has been made in connection to a recent rash of break and enters in Prince George.

The series of break ins started  at the end of March,  when Prince George RCMP responded to a Break & Enter to a commercial business on the 1600 block of Nicholson Street in Prince George. A small amount of cash was taken, but no suspects were located.

On Saturday April 1^st, 2017, the Prince George RCMP responded to a Break & Enter to a business on the Commercial Crescent in Prince George.  Merchandise valued at several thousand dollars was taken, but the suspect was not located.

On Sunday April 23^rd, 2017 the Prince George RCMP received a report of a stolen Nissan Pathfinder that was taken from outside a residence on Ingledew Street in Prince George sometime the night before.

At approximately 3:00 PM the same day, the Prince George RCMP received a report of a Break & Enter from a business located on the 1700 block of Quinn Street in Prince George. Approximately $2000 was taken.   A lone male suspect and what’s believed to be the stolen Pathfinder, were observed on video surveillance.

On Tuesday April 25^th, members of the Prince George RCMP’s Street Crew Unit with assistance from the Detachment’s General Duty Section, attended an address on the 1600 block of Queensway Street and arrested a man believed to be responsible for these offences.  The stolen pathfinder was recovered.

50 year old Phillip Thompson Cooper, who recently relocated to Prince George from the Terrace area, has been charged with the following Criminal Code offences:

• Break & Enter to Commit Indictable Offence (3 counts)
• Possession of Ammunition while Prohibited (4 counts)
• Possession of Break-in Instruments
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime

He is being held in custody and was expected to appear in court today.

RCMP in Prince George, say  there has been  an increase in Break and Enter offences so far this year,  but  are not able to  provide  numbers  to   indicate   the difference  in numbers  this year  compared to  the same period a year ago.