Update Oct. 30 3 p.m.:
RCMP officers in Nanaimo have made an arrest and brought six charges against a suspect in the violent home invasion in Sicamous on Oct. 24.
Crown counsel has approved charges against 37-year-old Robert Christopher Bomba in relation to the incident. The charges are: Forcible confinement, disguising the face while committing an offence, assault causing bodily harm, break and enter, failing to comply with probation and possession of stolen property over $5000.
Bomba also had two other outstanding warrants from the Sicamous RCMP, one for failing to comply with probation and one for driving while prohibited. He is being held in custody in Nanaimo.
The Sicamous RCMP鈥檚 investigation is ongoing. They say the home invasion involved two male suspects and one female.
Anyone with information on the home invasion is asked to contact the Sicamous RCMP at 250-836-2878 or CrimeStoppers.
Original story:
A violent crime against an exceedingly vulnerable victim was committed in Sicamous on Oct. 24 and the culprits remain at large.
A 59-year-old woman who is terminally ill with cancer was tied up, assaulted and robbed in a home invasion on Kappel Street early last Wednesday morning. Sicamous RCMP officers responded to the scene of the home invasion at 6:24 a.m. The officers were advised that two males armed with handguns had forced their way into the residence while a female suspect remained outside.
The victim suffered a fractured nose, stating to investigators that she was held at gunpoint and kicked in the face during the alleged assault. The victim was transported by BC Ambulance Service to receive medical treatment for her injuries.
After stealing two small safes, jewelry and prescription drugs, the suspects fled in a white Ford dually pickup truck. Sicamous RCMP eventually located the truck, which had been stolen from Armstrong overnight on Oct. 24.
In the hours immediately following the call to police, the RCMP Police Dog Service from Vernon along with Southeast District Air Services assisted in efforts to locate the suspects.
The day after the home invasion, the RCMP stated that although their investigation was in its early stages, they do not believe this was a random attack.
Anyone with information about the home invasion is asked to call the Sicamous RCMP at 250-836-2878 or CrimeStoppers.
Speaking to the Eagle Valley News via Facebook Messenger, the victim鈥檚 son said his mother is very shaken up and traumatized.
She no longer feels safe in Sicamous and will be relocating to Cranbrook where she will be closer to family and to a hospital that can provide her cancer treatments.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think she will feel safe anywhere for a while, but leaving the Sicamous area and starting over again will be the first step in a long recovery,鈥� the victim鈥檚 son said.
The victim鈥檚 family has started a GoFundMe page in hopes of easing the financial burden the crime and the decision to move to Cranbrook has created.
鈥淲e have been putting her up in a hotel closer to the hospital since the attack to keep her away from the location of the attack,鈥� the GoFundMe page reads.
鈥淲e have also had to replace all the medications the attackers stole. This is quickly working through any money we have and putting a strain on all of us.
鈥淟iving in a hotel is not ideal for her condition.鈥�
The GoFundMe campaign had been live for one day and had raised $1,325 of its $5,000 goal at the Eagle Valley News鈥� press deadline.
The page can be viewed at: https://www.gofundme.com/help-sicamous-home-invasion-victim.
-With files from Martha Wickett
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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