Convicted sex offender released then re-arrested in Vancouver following citizen tip
A convicted sex offender wanted Canada-wide for breaching his long-term supervision order by failing to return to his Vancouver halfway house has been arrested after a citizen tip.
A convicted sex offender wanted Canada-wide for breaching his long-term supervision order by failing to return to his Vancouver halfway house has been arrested after a citizen tip.
According to a New Year’s Eve statement from the Vancouver Police Department, “Merrick, 58, served an 18-year sentence for sexual offences. He had been living at a halfway house in the Downtown Eastside after being released from jail on a long-term supervision order.”
Court records show Dean Robert Merrick was convicted in 2000 of breaking into a Kelowna home in 1999, where he sexually assaulted a woman at knifepoint during a home invasion while her fiancé was tied up nearby.
This followed a prior 1991 conviction for sexually assaulting a female relative at gunpoint, amid a history of substance abuse, property crimes and assaults linked to alcohol and cocaine addiction.
Vancouver police now say Merrick, 58, was recognized by a member of the public who reported him to authorities. Officers located Merrick a short time later and took him into custody.
Merrick had previously been released from an 18-year sentence for sexual offences and was living at a halfway house in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver police say he left the facility shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday to attend an appointment on Commercial Drive but did not return, prompting a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.
They did not provide further details on the arrest, breaches of condition, or charges.
Someone in the neighbourhood needs to practice the 3 S's...Shoot, shovel and SHUT UP! This is what it must come to. Our judicial system has failed us. We've seen it. Time for a Magnum Force to take over. Sorry, we played by your rules and we lost, so now it's up to us to do the job you refuse to do.
So he spent 18 years in jail since 2000. So he's been at the half way house 6 years? This story is emotional because of his crime, but he has done a long sentence. How long was his sentence?