New Westminster – On July 17th at approximately 4:15pm the New Westminster Police Department was dispatched to the 200 block of Mowat Street for an assault in progress.
The person who called 9-1-1 shared that they had just seen a man enter the backyard of a residence, and strike another man in the head with a piece of aluminum railing. When patrol officers arrived on scene they could not locate anyone matching the suspect description in the area. Patrol officers obtained CCTV footage of the assault and recognized the suspect. The following day, the suspect was located and arrested without incident. The suspect is not known to the victim.
“The person who witnessed this did absolutely the right thing in calling 9-1-1, and thanks to proactive police work, patrol officers recognized this suspect and were able to quickly locate them and arrest them,” stated Sergeant Justine Thom.
32 year old Merrick Holowka, of Burnaby British Columbia has been charged with the following offences:
1 Count of Assault with a Weapon, section 267(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada;
1 Count of Assault causing Bodily Harm, section 267(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada
At the present time, the suspect remains in custody. The New Westminster Police Department would like to thank the resident who called 9-1-1 and would like to encourage other residents who witness crimes in progress to do the same.
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CONTACT PERSON: Sergeant Justine Thom
PHONE: 604-529-2537
FILE: 2022-10677