A man from California has been arrested in Ashcroft, who is believed to have illegally crossed the border before committing a number of crimes.

Southeast District RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says the man was arrested just after 9 a.m. yesterday after police were called to a break and enter at a business on Cornwall Road.

O’Donaghey tells NL News the suspect is believed to have crossed the border somewhere in the Lower Mainland, and not at a controlled point of entry.

He says the suspect had been in B.C. for several days, and possibly up to a week.

The suspect arrested is also linked to a stolen Mini Cooper that was found abandoned at a gas station in Ashcroft on Sunday, which had been stolen on Saturday from the Lower Mainland.

A 29-year-old man from Fresno is now being returned to the United States, who was wanted in several jurisdictions. He has not been charged in Canada, and so his identity will not be provided further by RCMP.

When it comes to COVID-19, O’Donaghey says officers who made the arrest would’ve taken necessary precautions, but he did says there’s possible concern that the suspect may have spread the virus in communities if he was contagious. O’Donaghey did not know if the suspect has been tested for the virus.

He also says front line officers in Ashcroft have been working “tirelessly” to respond to flooding in Cache Creek. He says this arrest likely prevented further crimes in the southern Interior.

Anyone with more information is asked to call the Ashcroft RCMP.