Police are crediting an observant member of the public with helping to take down a pair of would-be thieves in the early morning hours Thursday.
Langley RCMP was called just after midnight Oct. 18 to the former Gibbs Nursery on 200 Street, following a report of a break and enter in progress.
The caller told police he had seen two men break through the fencing into the nursery yard before fleeing westbound along 80 Avenue in a Ford pickup.
The Air One police helicopter located the vehicle in the 19200 block of 80 Avenue and Langley officers caught up with the suspect vehicle in the 19400 block (Surrey). They arrested the two occupants without incident. Items that appeared to be from the nursery were found inside the cab of the pickup.
Police will recommend charges of break and enter against a 43-year-old Langley man and a 65-year-old man from Abbotsford.
“Police can’t be all places at all times. We depend upon and are very thankful for the assistance of the public in reporting crimes of this nature," said Supt. Derek Cooke, officer in charge of the Langley detachment.
"There is nothing we like more than catching the bad guys, and because of the public’s assistance we are able to direct our resources and Air One to the scene immediately and apprehend the suspects without incident.”
The nursery closed at the end of September.