Point Roberts experiences a mini-crime wave

Photo by Louise Mugar

By Pat Grubb

It appears a mini-crime wave has struck Point Roberts. When John Sheppard arrived to open Auntie Pam’s Country Store on Gulf Road on Tuesday morning, July 31, he found that someone had beaten him to it. Sort of. The glass windows on the front door had been smashed out in an attempt to gain entry but the intruder or intruders had been stymied by the keyed deadbolt on the interior side of the door.

“They took out every panel on the door that they could take out,” Sheppard said. He figures the would-be thieves made their break-in attempt between 2 or 3 a.m. based on a report by the upstairs tenant who said he’d heard noises and yelling around that time.

The thief was able to reach through the door to grab some merchandise off a nearby shelf but apparently didn’t think much of it – it was later found strewn on the community center parking lot. Two cars and a truck at nearby residences were also broken into. “We’ll probably hear about more break-ins after the Canadians come down to their cabins this weekend,” Sheppard said. “I hear there was a house on APA Road across from the church that was hit, too.”

After discovering the damaged door, Sheppard called 911 to report the break-in. After getting no response, he called the local sheriff’s office in Point Roberts. Around 2 p.m. Sheppard received a call back from a callout deputy who said he was stuck in Birch Bay investigating an assault incident. The deputy reported back to him around 7 p.m. saying he had been to the store and had investigated the scene.

Sheppard said the 911 operator had explained that the sheriff’s department was short of staff what with vacations and a funeral taking place in Seattle. “I don’t blame the police,” Sheppard said.