Southside Edmonton electrical supplier hit three times in weeks; owner frustrated with release

Valvo Electrical Supply Ltd in south Edmonton, near 58 Avenue and 87 Street, has been hit three times in recent weeks — a pattern that has left owner Chad Osman asking what protection the business actually has.

On Monday, Sept. 7, a break-in suspect was caught red-handed by a security guard. Family members arrived and held the man until police arrived. Officers found copper wire and bus bars in the suspect's backpack.

Survival video from that evening shows the suspect leaving the property on a bike as a police cruiser departed after questioning — the man was released. Edmonton Police Service confirmed the suspect was arrested and charged with break and enter, possession of break and enter tools, and mischief. Police said he was "subsequently released on an undertaking with conditions … (and) generally, police must release charged persons as soon as practicable unless the circumstances justify a continued detention."

Osman's frustration is sharp: "We catch the guy, we give them the guy and then they just let him go. It's just frustrating. What do we do?"

This wasn't the first strike. A Ford F-150 was stolen from the property last month. About an hour before an interview with Global News on Friday, a worker's bike was stolen — captured on surveillance. "Everybody's frustrated. The robberies, how they're handling the robberies… you know it's all slap on the wrist, to the point where they catch and release," Osman said.

He described the bind of responding to threats: "If he has something dangerous on him we're at risk, so usually the police say, 'Don't deal with it, we're coming to deal with it'. But they don't show up for an hour, and then the guy leaves."

Edmonton Police said officers responded to seven calls in the industrial area where Valvo sits, though the breakdown of calls linked directly to the business was not specified.