A convicted sex offender wanted Canada-wide for breaching his long-term supervision order by failing to return to his Vancouver halfway house has been arrested after a citizen tip.
According to a New Year’s Eve statement from the Vancouver Police Department, “Merrick, 58, served an 18-year sentence for sexual offences. He had been living at a halfway house in the Downtown Eastside after being released from jail on a long-term supervision order.”
Court records show Dean Robert Merrick was convicted in 2000 of breaking into a Kelowna home in 1999, where he sexually assaulted a woman at knifepoint during a home invasion while her fiancé was tied up nearby.
This followed a prior 1991 conviction for sexually assaulting a female relative at gunpoint, amid a history of substance abuse, property crimes and assaults linked to alcohol and cocaine addiction.
Vancouver police now say Merrick, 58, was recognized by a member of the public who reported him to authorities. Officers located Merrick a short time later and took him into custody.
Merrick had previously been released from an 18-year sentence for sexual offences and was living at a halfway house in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver police say he left the facility shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday to attend an appointment on Commercial Drive but did not return, prompting a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.
They did not provide further details on the arrest, breaches of condition, or charges.