A 28 year old woman who helped herself to an estimated $10-thousand worth of cash and electronics from a Nanaimo home Tuesday, while the homeowners were there -- is facing charges of Break and Enter and theft.
And it was the female homeowner who chased her down.
Ashley Stevenson ran after the woman after her partner came upstairs to say a woman had just walked out their front door carrying a backpack and other items:
"And she had my backpack, with my laptop in it, which has all of the memories of getting to know my stepdaughter, all of my course work, my term paper worth 50%. But in total she had just under $10,000 worth of goods. She had my house keys, my car keys, and my car insurance and paperwork."
Ashley chased the thief through numerous yards and finally knocked her into a ditch where the woman fought back -- bashing her with a rock. She suffered cuts, bruising and a bump on the head.
Thankfully Ashley's partner arrived and sat on the woman until police arrived.
But Ashley says she feels bad for the woman after learning she is homeless, a mother, and addicted to drugs.
" I fell absolutely terrible, and I feel how is this woman ever going to get her life on track now that she has such a lengthy criminal record."
Nanaimo RCMP do not recommend victims of crime try to apprehend suspects on their own emphasizing there could have been a different outcome.