VICTORIA -- Saanich police have arrested a man who allegedly robbed two businesses over two days in the Gorge area.
The first robbery occurred on Jan. 30 at a shopping plaza in the 200-block of Gorge Road West.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., the suspect walked into a business in the plaza and handed a note to a cashier demanding cash. The suspect was given an undisclosed amount of money and fled before police were called.
One day later, on Feb. 1, another robbery occurred at a different business in the same shopping plaza.
Around 8:30 p.m., the suspect demanded that a cashier hand over cash and threatened the employee with a firearm. He also handed the cashier a note asking for money.
The man was handed cash and fled the area before police arrived.
On Feb. 5, Saanich police say investigators had determined the identity of the suspect, a 49-year-old local man, and arrested him that afternoon.
He is now facing two recommended charges of robbery and one count of using an imitation firearm.
“Investigators, including frontline patrol officers, worked quickly to identify a suspect responsible for these brazen crimes in our community,” said Saanich police Const. Markus Anastasiades in a release Wednesday.
“Search warrants were also executed on a residence in Saanich as well as a vehicle believed to be associated with the robberies,” he said.
