Crime spree terrorizes Three Mile Plains

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

West Hants Municipal Warden Richard Dauphinee said last week that the community of Three Mile Plains is being ‘terrorized’ by a group of young offenders and residents are “fed up.”

Dauphinee says trucks, ATVs, bicycles, lawn mowers, chainsaws - “anything that can’t be pinned down” - is being either vandalized or stolen right under residents’ noses.

One stolen truck was later found in the woods, gutted and burned, while another was left wedged against a door at the Three Mile Plains School with the accelerator left running.

Dauphinee said the stealing has become so continuous that people don’t even bother reporting it. “It has gotten so bad a person almost wants to go away and leave their own property.”

Residents of Three Mile Plains are “ready to take back their community,” Dauphinee said. “Our Community Hall has been broken into some many times it’s not even funny and we really take offense to that.”

The greatest concern seems to be for the seniors living in the area. “They can’t sleep at night, they’re terrified.” Dauphinee said he knows of at least one senior who sits on his porch with his rifle beside him. “I’m not afraid myself, but I’m afraid for them.”

Afraid to go to bed at night

One area resident who owns a machine repair business recently had three ATVs stolen late at night from his shop on his parents’ property. All three have since been recovered: two were found by RCMP and one by himself.

“They didn’t even belong to me,” he said. “They were here for repairs. If they hadn’t been found it would’ve come out of my own pocket.”

Finding the stolen vehicles, however, was little consolation. “Mom’s scared to death; she’s afraid to go to bed at night.”

RCMP presence in the area has been beefed up since complaints began to roll in, but Dauphinee said there’s little hope the justice system will work for them.

“Even if they were to be arrested, what’s the chance they’ll be back at it in no time,” he said.

‘You can’t live in fear’: Dauphinee

The big fear for Dauphinee is that individuals will take their own action and then “the wrong people will be behind bars.

“I commend the police; they’ve been phenomenal through all this and I know they’re doing everything possible. It must be hard for them to go through the process only to see the offenders back out on the street,” Dauphinee said. “But you can’t live in fear.”

At the same time, Dauphinee said area residents have little recourse. “They’ve talked about a public meeting and I know they’re close to taking action, but I’ve encouraged them to let the police do what they need to do.”

The individual who owns the repair shop said he has lived in the area all his life and it was always a good neighborhood, but since the crime spree started he has had enough. “Nothing’s safe anymore,” he said.

Although the RCMP have kept him informed, this individual has little faith in the system. “It’s not the RCMP at fault here. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is for them to finally catch the little buggers, arrest them, bring them to court and then see them out on the street doing whatever they want.”

He said it’s because the offenders are underage. “There’s nothing I can do to them myself; they’re all young offenders. I’ve heard they might arrest some of them soon, but how far do you think that’s going to go?”

Windsor Rural RCMP is taking the matter seriously and continues to investigate.