Yellowknife couple sounds alarm on downtown safety after vehicle vandalized in parking garage

A Yellowknife couple says more needs to be done for downtown safety after their vehicle, kept in a parking garage, was damaged recently.  

Rick Boyes, who lives in Northern Heights, said his 2005 Chrysler Sebring was a "daily driver" that got him from work to home to the grocery store. 

But on Nov. 21 he went to take his car from its parking spot in the Centre Square Mall parkade and discovered he wouldn't be able to drive it around anymore. 

Three of the four windows had been smashed, the windshield cracked, the wiper handle ripped off and the rearview mirror ruined, among other damage.

"I think the thing is toast," he said.

Boyes also discovered dozens of cigarette butts, empty liquor bottles and marijuana paraphernalia inside the car; he thinks whoever did it, made an evening of the destruction.

Boyes and his wife Sandy Dodman don't have insurance coverage for the damage.  

In the meantime the couple has another vehicle they can use, but in the long term they need to make a decision — spend an estimated $2,500 to fix a vehicle that likely is not worth that much, or spend tens of thousands on a newer vehicle.

"So now we're looking at the loss of the car in addition to the price of a replacement. Due to somebody's overnight evening sport," Boyes said. 

The multi-storey parkade is the only structure of its kind in Yellowknife. It offers covered parking to residents of the nearby Northern Heights condominium tower.

The entrance to the parkade is a regular hangout for some. It offers shelter from the elements and a close proximity to some downtown amenities. 

Boyes said it requires a key card to get in and there is a security camera, but he said Centre Square Mall staff told him there are ways vandals can get in, and there are areas not covered by the security camera. Centre Square Mall didn't respond to requests for comment.  

In 2020, several cars kept in the parkade were spray painted, including a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle. 

And Yellowknife's Arctic Jewellers, a retailer in the Centre Square Mall, faces thousands of dollars in damage and losses after the business was robbed in October.

It's the second time the store faced theft in two months, said owner Hau Huynh.

Boyes and Dodman say they feel like this is part of a larger issue around living in the downtown area, and little is being done to address it.  

"The core, it's not safe, I don't think, in my opinion," Boyes said. 

The couple says there doesn't seem to be accountability, or preventative measures in place. 

Security and police

Boyes and Dodman say they were told the mall requires security to check on the parking garage, but that they've rarely seen anyone do so. 

CBC News reached out to the Centre Square Mall administration by email and phone, and showed up to the administrative office in the mall on three occasions over two days. No one was in the administration office on any of the visits and no one returned calls or emails to respond to the situation.

Boyes and Dodman say the situation requires more than just action on the mall's part though — they want to see more RCMP visibility in the neighbourhood, including foot patrols. 

"If this is where the action is, maybe they should have a detachment down here?" he said. 

CBC News reached out to the RCMP about the incident. 

A spokesperson responded to say an arrest had been made on a series of vandalized cars in the Borden Drive area of the city. The vandalism there included smashed windows, similar to what happened to Boyes's car. But RCMP didn't say if the youth arrested was involved in that vandalism. 

On Monday, Boyes said he was happy to hear about any arrest for acts of vandalism.

However, Boyes and Dodman said when they filed a police report they were warned to not expect much. They said they were told that even if police made an arrest, it was unlikely the culprit would be able to pay for the damage even if found guilty.

But Dodman wonders how this deters future incidents. 

"It's just telling them to do it over and over again," said Dodman.