Man arrested after home invasion "for drugs" in Nakusp
By Nelson Daily Staff
A 52-year-old disabled Nakusp man was the victim of a home invasion on the morning of Friday, Feb. 11 in Nakusp, RCMP in that area have just reported.
The man had disabilities resulting from several accidents and relied on morphine to relieve his pain, said Cpl. Bryson Hill of the Nakusp RCMP.
He was asleep when the suspect knocked down his door and entered his home with a steel pipe in hand. The victim was struck several times by the assailant and suffered broken bones as a result.
“The assailant demanded that the victim turn over his drugs,” said Cpl. Bryson. “The victim complied, turned over his morphine and the assailant fled the scene on foot.”
Investigation by police identified a Nakusp resident as the suspect. Twenty-six-year-old James Russell Fraser was arrested later in the day and has been charged with the following: assault with a weapon; assault causing bodily harm; armed robbery; and break and enter to commit.
Fraser was located and arrested during the execution of an unrelated search warrant for a residence on 10th Avenue in Nakusp. Police had been investigating a stolen snowmobile that was believed to be located at the address.
Police had been preparing the search warrant to recover the stolen snowmobile. When the search warrant was executed, Fraser was located inside the house and arrested for the home invasion.
As a result of the search warrant, a 2009 Ski-Doo Summit snowmobile was recovered from the Nakusp property. The snowmobile had been stolen out of the Okanagan in recent weeks.
Fraser is currently in custody and has been held over until trial, scheduled on Feb. 24. Another Nakusp male was arrested for possession of stolen property and police are recommending charges for this offence. The identity of the man will not be released at this time because charges have yet to be laid.
These types of crimes are very rare in Nakusp, said Nakusp Mayor Karen Hamling.
“When they do take place the community does not stand for it and most often those responsible are arrested,” she said in a statement.
