PENTICTON – A man rummaging through vehicles in Penticton wasn’t fleet of foot enough to escape Penticton RCMP last week.

RCMP say they received a report at about 11:52 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 6, about a man behind the Lancaster Place Apartments at 2360 South Main St. who was peering into vehicles with a flashlight.

Officers arrived to find suspect standing next to a grey Dodge van with a smashed out window, police say. He took off on foot, only to be apprehended a short distance down South Main Street. After a brief struggle, he was taken into custody. The suspect is known to police.

The man claimed to be in medical distress because he had taken to much methamphetamine and heroin, so was taken to hospital for assessment and released to police, who took him to the jail cells at the detachment, according to RCMP.

Police found the man to be in breach of probation for having taken drugs, in addition to finding break-in tools and stolen items taken from vehicles in the parking lot where he was apprehended.

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