Suspect arrested after $55K in 'irreplaceable' books stolen from Victoria shop

One day after a handful of rare books worth more than $55,000 were stolen from a downtown Victoria book shop, the store says the collection has been returned.

Russell Books was targeted in the overnight theft on Wednesday.

The store said in a social media post that "unwelcome guests" broke into the shop at 747 Yates Street and "helped themselves to over $55,000 worth of antiquarian books."

The independent bookseller boasts a large collection of rare editions housed in glass cabinets inside the store.

Among them are a signed first-edition copy of Walt Whitman's poetry collection Leaves of Grass, valued at $10,000.

Victoria police Chief Del Manak took to Twitter late Thursday night to announce a suspect had been found in possession of some of the books and was arrested.

Great news! @vicpdcanada identified a suspect and officers went to work. Later, they located the suspect and he was in possession of some books. Officers did more digging and located most, if not all, of the stolen books. Suspect “booked”, final chapter written by #VicPD! https://t.co/k2jhKaafhe

— Del Manak (@ChiefManak) February 10, 2023

In a news release, the Victoria Police Department elaborated on the investigation, saying that after the break-in, the suspect had tried, unsuccessfully, to enter a "multi-unit residential temporary housing facility in the 800-block of Johnson Street."

The suspect left behind some books on that block, "which were taken by another individual but eventually turned over to police," VicPD said.

Police eventually located the suspect and arrested him. He had $22,000 worth of books in his possession at the time, according to VicPD.

"Officers determined that he also had three outstanding arrest warrants in B.C. for offences that included mischief under $5,000, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and break and enter with intent," police said. "He was held in custody to appear in court."

Police did not name the suspect in their statement, but online court records for the file identify him as Billy-Joe Ray Montgomery, born in 1975.

VicPD said another suspect entered the store shortly after the initial break-in and also stole some books. That person is still at large.

Russell Books confirmed the stolen rare items were returned Friday.

"All of us here at Russell Books are so touched by the outpouring of support from the community and very thankful to have recovered these irreplaceable books," store manager Andrea Minter told CTV News in an emailed statement.

"The downtown community and neighbouring businesses were so helpful and kind during this ordeal and we owe a major debt of gratitude to the hard working officers of the Victoria Police Department," Minter added.

"We are so proud to be a part of Victoria’s vibrant downtown and look forward to having our treasures back on display soon," the manager said. 

Russell Books confirmed the stolen items were returned Friday. (Russell Books/Facebook)