A man who previously served time for a drug-fuelled sexual assault in a Prince George motel is back in custody.
David Richard Morin, 27, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stabbing a tourist from Mexico inside a Vancouver coffee shop.
The incident happened early morning on Saturday at the Tim Hortons at the Harbour Centre in what Vancouver police called a random attack.
As the victim was putting on his jacket he was attacked by another man already in the shop who stabbed him repeatedly.
Police subsequently released security camera footage of the attack in the hopes the public would recognize the man.
“A number of people came forward with information after seeing the video, and thanks to help from the public, investigators identified a suspect from the Downtown Eastside,” said Sgt. Steve Addison in a press release. “VPD officers located the suspect walking in the downtown core Tuesday afternoon and took him into custody.”
Morin was arrested near Granville and Helmcken Streets and was charged with aggravated assault.
“We’re relieved to have made an arrest so quickly in this troubling case, and hope this helps restore the sense of safety that some people have lost,” said Addison. “Everyone who came forward with information deserves credit for this quick arrest.”
The 25-year-old victim is recovering from life-threatening injuries in the hospital.
In October 2018, Morin was sentenced to a further three years and two months in jail for a July 2017 assault of a former girlfriend.
Both had been evacuated from Williams Lake due to the forest fires at the time.
Morin had been evacuated to Prince George two weeks before she had arrived and when she showed up, she learned he had been seeing another woman in this city.
She booked the motel room and invited Morin over in the hope he would make up with her. But a drug-addled Morin turned violent and the sentencing judge found that the sex that followed was not consensual.
