By Roy L Hales
A vigilante incident sent one Campbell River man to the hospital and led to four arrests.
When the Campbell River RCMP responded to a call for assistance at the 100 Block of Thulin St., they found four men leaving a home with belongings they claimed were theirs.
The 40-year-old occupant of the home was found badly beaten inside.
"It is believed that the four men went to the home after receiving information that the 40 year old resident was in possession of belongings that had been taken from their residences during Break and Enters," the RCMP said in a statement.
The four men were arrested for assault causing bodily harm and subsequently released, pending a later court date.
Constable Maury Tyre, of the Campbell River RCMP, advises against vigilante responses.
“It’s easy to understand the level of anger that get’s created when one’s home is violated. However, we urge members of the public not to take matters into their own hands. The end result can see the victim turning into an accused very quickly and violent crimes are typically viewed as more serious than property crimes. In other situations, we have seen the person who takes the matter into their own hands be quite seriously injured as well. What we need, is witnesses who are willing to share information fully on crimes with the police so that police can deal with it expediently in a legal fashion," he said in a statement.
Police later recovered thousands of dollars worth of belongings from several different break ins, from the home, and returned them to their owners.