Man charged in pair of break and enters in Summerside

It sounds like a scene from a movie a man allegedly broke into a laundromat at a Summerside mall Monday but was caught after he fell through the ceiling as he tried to access another area.

Summerside police say the same 39-year-old was involved in a break-in at the Summerside Boys and Girls Club Monday morning.

"It was a bit unusual for sure," said Sgt. Jason Blacquiere, adding the suspect is "very well known to police."

Police have laid charges in connection with the break-ins and say the man appeared in court Tuesday, where he was remanded into custody until his next scheduled court appearance May 1.

Evidence links 2 cases

The first incident was reported to police early Monday morning when staff members of the Boys and Girls Club arrived for work at an office space on Water Street and found the building had been broken into.

A window was broken and the building "appeared to have been rummaged through," Blacquiere said. It was later discovered that some copper wire had been stolen from the building.

Police said "there was evidence located at the scene that would later be linked to a second break-in."

That happened at approximately 7:30 Monday evening when police were alerted to a break-in in progress at the Town Centre Mall on Water Street.

A mall employee reported they believed someone had stayed in the laundromat after it closed, then crawled up into the ceilingto try to access another area.

"She did a check on the next room which was some office space and found some broken ceiling tiles on the floor, as if someone had fallen through the ceiling," Blacquiere said.

Police were on the scene within minutes and found the man hiding in a closet and arrested him without incident, Blacquiere said.

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