One encounter with Barrie Police apparently wasn't enough for a 37-year-old man from Strathroy.
Around 7:30 p.m.. on Thursday, police responded to a report of a man breaking into the rear of the former Sears store located in the Georgian Mall.
"Upon arrival, a motor vehicle was observed doing “burn outs” in the parking lot and the driver told police that he was practicing being a rally car driver," police said in a news release on Friday.
Officers determined the driver was the person they were looking for in connection with the reported break and enter, and that he was in possession of property that had allegedly been removed from the store. The property was returned to a supervisor from the company doing renovations to the store.
The suspect was charged with break and enter as well as having alcohol and cannabis readily available in his vehicle. He was given a court date in September and sent on his way.
Then around 1:30 Friday morning, police received a call from a motorist who reported a vehicle being driven on the wrong side of the road on Bayfield Street at Cundles Road East. They were told the vehicle then drove over the curb and across the sidewalk and into the parking lot of the Kozlov Mall. Officers located the vehicle just south of the main Bayfield Street entrance to the plaza.
The driver showed signs of impairment and failed a screening device test, so he was taken to police headquarters for further testing where he was charged with impaired driving.
As it turns out, police say the motorist was the same guy charged six hours earlier with the break and enter at the former Sears store.
The man's driver's licence was suspended for 90 days, and his vehicle has been impounded for seven days.
He is to be back in court later this month to deal with the drunk driving charge.
