'No one is sleeping': West Kelowna couple anxious after suspect in home attack released

It’s been weeks since the first of three rocks went through Jody and Mike German’s window in West Kelowna, and even though a suspect was arrested, they’re far from at ease in their own home.

“I suppose there’s relief that we have confirmation of who has been targeting our house, but do we feel that it’s over and can we go back to sleep at night? Definitely not,” Jody said.

Between 2 and 4 a.m. every night, she and Mike find themselves awake and bracing for what may come.

Due in large part due to surveillance footage provided to police by the Germans and owners of the other two West Kelowna homes that were targeted, a suspect was arrested last week in relation to a spate of rock throwing incidents in the neighbourhood.

“On Sunday Jan. 5 at approximately 4 a.m., through patrols, police located a vehicle driving in the area of Pinot Noir Drive which was registered to the suspect,” RCMP said in a press release.

“Officers conducted a traffic stop and located a male suspect and arrested him without incident.”

The suspect was released shortly after that arrest.

A search of court documents indicates there have been no charges in relation to the file. No allegations, therefore, have been proven. And, while police didn’t name who they arrested, German is familiar with him.

It was a hunch she had and passed on to police that helped police catch him.

“Police kept saying, ‘our team says you have to know this person,’” she said.

“I said, ‘well I don’t know anyone who would do this …we are relatively new to Kelowna and the community.’”

As more information started to come in, she thought of all the people who frequent the neighbourhood and considered the familiarity with its ins and outs, they would have.

Then she told police about an unusual interaction she had with a FedEx delivery driver and it paid off.

“He was caught on our street, with four rocks in plain view,” Jody said.

“He was (allegedly) getting rocks for everybody he’s hit— the (three) houses and the two vehicles on another street— from a rock pile above the street,” she said, noting that it was landscaping material for a new home.

He also seemed to know his way around the area.

“He knew where he could hide, park and go so he couldn’t get followed,” she said.

Knowing that allegations are against someone who was trusted in their neighbourhood, and that person violated that trust, goes to the heart of why she’s not at ease.

The victimized families know the suspect is still free and they don’t know if he’s back to work at the job that put them on their doorsteps, or another, let alone if he will abide by conditions to stay away.

The suspect was not working when the allegations he’s facing occurred and FedEx had little to say on the matter.

“Out of respect for privacy, FedEx does not respond to public inquiries regarding employment status,” a company representative said.

“The incident you brought to our attention is unrelated to FedEx or its operations.”

It does, however, make Jody question whether or not she will use these services the same way. She’s already found herself more wary of those she’s in contact with and wonders what vetting systems are in place for these businesses that put people with unknown histories on doorsteps.

“I’m guarded and nervous and now I don’t want to have any face to face with anybody coming to my house,” she said.

“We need to try and get over this anger. It doesn’t go away. It’s hard to think about. I just can’t believe someone I treated kindly did this to my home and my family. It was terrifying. ”

She’s also feeling stung by the ongoing expenses related to the random attack on her home.

She has some temporary windows in place while new ones are made. Others still have boards up. Each time a window is broken, she said, people hit would have to pay a new deductible.

Knowing what that could do to insurance rates means most are simply going to pay out of pocket for the windows, blinds, and property that was destroyed by these less-than-random attacks.

"I’m not a victim, but I feel like one," she said. "No one is sleeping and I wonder if he will come back. It’s just disappointing."