Merritt woman feels abandoned by police after multiple break-in attempts

MERRITT (NEWS 1130) – A second Indigenous woman from the Merritt area is worried about her safety after two recent break-in attempts, including one where the suspect threatened to “come back for her” if she called police.

Shavonne Mountain says police are mostly dismissing her fears and went as far as questioning her own sobriety after she called 9-1-1 for help.

“My intent is not to discredit all the RCMP. My intent is to be heard about the incidents that have occurred to me and my family within a two-week span. I want to bring awareness to our community, to be safe, to protect yourself, because this is what we need to do,” she said.

Days after the attempted break-ins, she received a threatening anonymous text message. She also worries police may have left DNA evidence unchecked while the suspect potentially remains a risk to the community.

Mountain’s husband was in quarantine and she was alone with her children when she found a man sitting in her car in her carport, around 3 a.m. on Feb. 2.

Mountain says she was alerted to the man’s presence by her dogs and was already on the phone with police when she went to fully investigate and saw someone sitting in her car.

“I turned my carport light on and that’s when I opened up my door and I yelled and I was basically like, ‘Get the ‘eff out of my car or I’m going to get my dogs after you!'” she recalled.

She says as he ran off, he turned back, threatening to return if she called police.

“The person replied that if I was to call the police they were going to come back,” she explained.

RELATED: Merritt woman urges police to take complaints seriously after abduction attempt

Police attended moments later and Mountain says the officer was helpful and his patrols of the area made her feel more comfortable after the initial break in, and that he gave her a direct cell phone number to reach him, which also put her at ease.

Mountain says it was dark that night, but she remembers seeing that the man was slim and tall and seeing some of his face.

“He was wearing a black hoodie and he definitely was, you know, like darker skinned, but the only thing I could see was like his teeth, and it was like a gap between his teeth,” she said.

However, she says four nights later, a man who appeared to have a similar slim, tall build tried to break into her house through both a door and a window, and she feels police did not take it seriously enough.

A similar description was given by Danielle Jack who recounted an apparent abduction attempt that occurred in Merritt in mid-January.

Another Merritt woman, Danielle Jack, hasn't spoken with police abt her abduction attempt citing past retraumatizing: she's sharing her heartbreaking story of kidnapping and rape at 12 years old. Women are now calling her with their own stories. WARNING: HIGHLY GRAPHIC CONTENT. pic.twitter.com/ZMneOJ298r

— Ash Kelly she/her (settler) (@AshDKelly) February 24, 2021

During the second break-in attempt at her home, Mountain says she called 9-1-1 around 11 p.m. on Feb. 6, and received a call back from an officer on duty looking to confirm her address and asking if she thought the suspect was still there.

She says she was hiding in the bathroom, as instructed by the 9-1-1 operator, and communicated she could not be certain if the man was at her home or not.

“It took him a little while to get here. When he came here, he basically told me that he didn’t come here with his flashing lights, or he wasn’t racing to come here because I said I ‘wasn’t sure if he was still here’ and to him it wasn’t an emergency,” Mountain said.

“And then he came to the door, his first question was, like, he asked me how much I’d been drinking and I was so insulted,” she said. “I’m home by myself at like 11 o’clock at night. Why does that even matter?”

RELATED: Anti-violence advocate says RCMP minimizing fear of viral posts claiming B.C. women being abducted

B.C. and Merritt RCMP did not reply to multiple requests for comment about this allegation.

The police description of that report says “While responding to the scene, police learned that the unknown suspect had departed in an unknown direction. Front line officers conducted extensive patrols of the surrounding areas, no persons were located.”

Mountain says she made sure the officer understood that the suspect matched the description of the man she found in her car a few nights prior, and that the officer knew about the previous break-in.

She says she informed him of the threat made to return by that suspect if she called the police but the officer dismissed her fears.

“He just basically said it wasn’t [related to the first event], it was just basically someone trying to find a warm place to sleep,” recalls Mountain, whose husband was still in quarantine in a hotel at the time.

Family feels unsafe and abandoned by RCMP

Bruce Swakum says being in quarantine while his wife was in distress made him feel helpless.

“It kind of put me on edge, especially being in the hotel, not being able to do anything. I guess what I did was call and let as many people that I could know what happened just so Shavonne didn’t feel like she was alone and she could have people check up on her,” he recalled.

That included his grandparents who often stopped in to check on Mountain and the kids until his quarantine ended. Mountain says on one occasion, while meeting her husband’s papa in the driveway, they noticed something that left them feeling uneasy.

“We noticed like there was like a condom outside and it was like a used condom,” she said.

Around that time, Mountain says she also noticed “1F 2BB” scrawled into the dirt on her vehicle, prompting her to call RCMP a third time. She says she also reported the used condom but it was brushed off as garbage and not evidence.

Tagging cars with letters and numbers that mark targets for human trafficking is something many police departments in North America have dismissed as urban legend or a hoax. The theory is predators mark their targets with “1F” for single female and “2B” would mean two boys are also present.

Shavonne says whether or not the marks were a prank, the timing is disturbing and she’s taking it seriously.

Mountain says the police officer told her the incidents have nothing to do with human trafficking and that he is unfamiliar with social media and not on Facebook, so he didn’t understand why she felt it was significant.

“I felt so gross. Like, I felt so nervous,” she says. “Regardless of where [the condom] came from, why is it in my driveway … why wouldn’t that be something you would look further into?”

The RCMP’s notes say “The woman conveyed that she had seen similar markings, shared by others on social media, have been utilized to aid in kidnappings. Police spoke with the woman to ensure her safety and develop a safety plan.”

But Mountain says there was never a safety plan to speak of and as far as she knows, there is potential DNA evidence laying in the ditch.

Mountain says she’s had trouble sleeping and feeling safe in her home, and feels sick and anxious most of the time. She describes physical and mental anguish that followed the threats and attempts.

Police description of suspect differs from witness

Police reports provided to NEWS 1130 do not match key details provided by the victim/witness.

Merritt RCMP’s notes from the first break-in say “Police were told that an unknown male suspect was observed inside a motor vehicle, after its owner was alerted by their dog. The heavily intoxicated man allegedly uttered threats, before departing on foot. The suspect was described as a First Nations male, wearing all black clothing.”

Mountain maintains she did not describe the man as Indigenous and claims she even indicated he was likely of another ethnicity and that she did not independently suggest he was intoxicated.

“I did not think he looked Indigenous,” she told NEWS 1130, clarifying she remembers police asked her if he was likely drunk and she said she had no way of knowing if that was the case because “everything happened so fast.”

While Mountain maintains that she has never indicated the suspect was First Nations, police files indicate Indigeneity in suspect descriptions on both occasions.

Notes from police on Feb. 6 say “The unknown suspect was described to police as a First Nations man, 5 ft 10 in tall and skinny, seen wearing a black hoodie, with the hood obscuring most of his face.”

The RCMP account of the second break-in attempt says the report came in at 11:14 p.m. and the officer “learned” that the suspect left the scene before police arrived.

“Merritt RCMP received a report of a suspicious person, who was believed to have attempted to open the front door and window of a residence in the Lower Nicola. While responding to the scene, police learned that the unknown suspect had departed in an unknown direction,” RCMP stated.

But Mountain says again, she had no way of knowing where the suspect was.

Mountain says, in fact, when the officer called form his patrol car she was clear she did not indicate the man had left her home as she could not tell from her position, locked inside the washroom, if he was still there.

RELATED: Woman says ‘malicious’-looking men tried to run her off Coquitlam road

The same officer, she alleges, asked how much she had been drinking that night. Despite multiple requests, RCMP have refused to comment on the officer’s decision to treat Mountain’s 9-1-1 call as non-emergency, or his questioning of the victim’s sobriety.

The RCMP have also not commented on the discrepancies in the reports regarding suspect descriptions or events.

When NEWS 1130 inquired about the difference in reports and descriptions on Feb. 15, the RCMP said it would, in turn, contact Mountain.

“Merritt RCMP is going to follow-up with the complainant, with respect to these matters and any concerns she may have,” read an email from the Mounties.

Multiple communications spokespersons told NEWS 1130 over the phone on Feb. 19 and 22 that Merritt officers were calling every day but were unable to get through to Mountain’s phone. NEWS 1130 confirmed the police had the correct number.

Mountain says she did not miss any calls and had no voicemails, providing screenshots and call logs in a bid to prove this, saying she would like police to call her.

When she finally spoke with an officer Tuesday, Feb. 23, she says she was told the officer didn’t see anything in the file worth following up on and wasn’t clear why she would want to still speak with police.

The last time Mountain has spoken with an officer was after reporting the “1F 2BB” scrawled in the back side of her vehicle. Police notes indicate a “safety plan” was developed but Mountain says that officer too, dismissed her fears.

Police indicated her report was the first in the Merritt area of a vehicle being marked in such a manner.

“I was like, are you kidding me? There were two break-ins and my car was marked. I thought after three incidents I would get at least one follow-up call,” Mountain said.

RELATED: RCMP ‘regret’ statements over social-media fuelled abduction concerns, address public backlash

Meanwhile, as she waited for the promised follow-up call, Mountain received a threatening text message that addressed her by a disturbing racial slur, followed by a message to the effect of, “You should have been kidnapped and gotten what you deserve.”

The message came from an anonymized number that read as “9999999999” on her screen and was sent on Feb. 16 at 10:45 a.m.

Mountain’s husband, Bruce Swakum, suspects it could have come from someone close to the couple.

“I felt pretty upset about it, like, I don’t know how people could talk like that and try and cover up their number by however they did it, it’s kind of like they’re hiding,” he said.

Mountain says she doesn’t even want to speak with police about it anymore because they have been so dismissive of her concerns so far.

On Friday, Feb. 19, Mountain took part in an “engagement session” that included members of the UBCIC and local First Nations leaders, as well as at least two female members of Merritt RCMP.

Danielle Jack, the woman who told NEWS 1130 about a possible abduction attempt in Merritt on Jan. 14, was set to attend the same Zoom meeting but had a personal emergency. Another person at the meeting shared part of Jack’s story with the group.

Together, the two Merritt women told their stories in the semi-private forum. Mountain says she brought up most of the details, including the used condom, the officer’s questions about her alcohol intake, and that she let the RCMP know at that meeting about the threatening text.

She says the two female RCMP officers at the meeting apologized to her for the slow response to her second 9-1-1 call.

“So I was kind of expecting to hear back, at least, after that,” she says.

UBCIC frustrated with RCMP response

Kukpi7 Judy Wilson is an executive member of the Unions of BC Indian Chiefs, sitting as secretary and treasurer.

She says the implementation of the 231 calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls need to be led by the demographic most impacted by the violence.

“It should be Indigenous women and two-spirited men rather than just the government because we didn’t want an action plan that is just gonna sit on the shelf or or not be connected to the community,” says Wilson.

She and UBCIC Women’s Representative Melissa Moses were in attendance with Jack and Mountain at Zoom meeting last week with RCMP and other leaders.

Wilson says women of all races are at risk right now and brought human trafficking educator, Cathy Peters, to the online event. She says the RCMP members expressed that it was a highly informative session for them.

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Wilson believes women from all demographics and races are at risk of murder, abduction, and sexual violence.

“We’ve got to get beyond that, you know, that thinking that it won’t happen to me, I’m an exception, because it’s been happening to all people from all walks of life and different backgrounds,” Wilson said.

“So it’s not just, the ones that are more vulnerable, or at risk on the street. It’s people, that live in the communities and, you know, that have all different kind of work backgrounds or education backgrounds,” she explained.

Melissa Moses is the women’s representative for the UBCIC and says women and two-spirited people have been turning to social media because young people are being told there’s nothing police can do until “something actually happens.”

“And then they’re saying that … it’s rumours being spread on social media about what is going on. Well, how do they know if it’s if it’s rumours if they’re not even reaching out and trying to find out if if these are rumours?”

Moses teaches self-defence classes to Indigenous people in the Nicola Valley and says she constantly hears from people who feel at risk and get no support from police. She says Indigenous people are using social media because it’s where feel they can turn to to alert the community.

Women still encouraged to report

Police have expressed frustration that women won’t report directly to them saying there’s little or nothing that can be down without police reports.

RCMP did attempt to reach Danielle Jack, a woman who described her escape from three men in a red van in mid-January, just minutes from Mountain’s home. The police only reached out after NEWS 1130 published her story, not after she shared it widely on social media about a week prior.

Jack has said she is not interested in speaking with RCMP because of past personal traumas. She’s now sharing that trauma online so other women feel they are not alone and says she’s hearing from other women daily.

Mountain also shared her story online shortly after the break-in attempts. She says Merritt RCMP called her at 1 a.m. on Feb. 13, asking her to remove the following social media post:

Experts and advocates say there’s a need for more Indigenous-led policing, community liaisons who can work with police to report crimes where the victim is a marginalized person, and for police to take concerns that COVID-19 has increased human trafficking seriously.

On Monday, NEWS 1130 reached a senior member of B.C. RCMP’s communications department who said police want women to come forward with their stories and Mounties are taking these reports seriously.

The RCMP spokesperson also said there’s a chance the facts and perpetrators could land in front of the courts one day, making it difficult to share details with the public while protecting the integrity of its case.

Mountain says she has police in her family and her intent is to bring awareness to keep others safe.

“There is a reason so many Indigenous women and children are harmed, because there is a lack of action when an incident is reported. These people know if Indigenous women go missing there really is no follow up or urgency to respond,” she said.

“In my case, I was hiding in the bathroom as dispatch had advised me to because I was not sure if the intruder was in my home or not. The RCMP officer who attended that night made a point to tell me that he did not use his lights or sirens coming out to my home. Why not? How does he know the intruder was not in my home that night, and why make a point to say that to me? Because he wanted me to know that this call was not an emergency to him?”

“I feel this wasted valuable time and I felt like this incident is being dismissed,” she said, adding she just wants to move on and put it all behind her.

The Lower Nicola Indian Band council is poised to discuss the incidents and police response at its Mar. 2 council meeting.

Chief Stuart Jackson says he wishes for councillors to “be apprised” of the details of recent meetings and police actions, including what was discussed at the Feb. 19 engagement session, which one band councillor attended alongside the victims, UBCIC members, and RCMP.

A previous version of this article stated that Danielle Jack was present at the Zoom meeting. It has been corrected to indicate that she was unable to attend due to a personal emergency.