ON July 17 at approximately 4:15 p.m., New Westminster Police were dispatched to the 200-block of Mowat Street for an assault in progress.­

The person who called 9-1-1 said that they had just seen a man enter the backyard of a residence, and strike another man in the head with a piece of aluminum railing.

When patrol officers arrived on scene, they could not locate anyone matching the suspect description in the area. They then obtained CCTV footage of the assault and recognized the suspect.

The following day, the suspect was located and arrested without incident. The suspect is not known to the victim.

“The person who witnessed this did absolutely the right thing in calling 9-1-1, and thanks to proactive police work, patrol officers recognized this suspect and were able to quickly locate them and arrest them,” said Sgt. Justine Thom.

32-year-old Merrick Holowka of Burnaby has been charged with one count each of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

At the present time, the suspect remains in custody.

New Westminster Police said they would like to thank the resident who called 9-1-1 and would like to encourage other residents who witness crimes in progress to do the same.