Man charged, others at large after B.C. thieves steal $26K in sunglasses

The other two suspects have not been identified, though police have released photographs of them. (Handout)

Police in Richmond, B.C., say one man is facing charges and two other suspects remain at large after thousands of dollars worth of sunglasses were stolen from an outlet mall earlier this year.

The alleged thefts occurred in January, when Mounties say more than $26,000 in merchandise was shoplifted from the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet mall, next to Vancouver International Airport.

Police say two men entered a store in the mall on Jan. 16 and proceeded to steal 53 pairs of sunglasses valued at more than $23,000.

Four days later, one of the men entered the same store again, this time with a woman and two cans of bear spray, and together they stole nine pairs of sunglasses valued at over $3,200, according to a news release from the Richmond RCMP.

The department’s airport crime unit took conduct of the investigation and eventually identified one of the suspects.

Police say Anibal Armando Escobar Bogarin was arrested and charged with theft over $5,000, robbery and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was released from custody with multiple conditions, including that he not attend the outlet mall, according to the release.

“Retail theft is a serious concern for our local residents and business community,” Staff Sgt. Sahan Perera said in the release.

“By bringing charges against those involved, we hope to send a loud message that criminal acts will not be tolerated.”

The other two suspects have not been identified, though police have released photographs of them.

The female suspect is described as having shoulder-length orange or yellow hair. Police say she was wearing a medical mask, black hat, black sweatshirt, black sweatpants and white runners with blue stripes at the time of the theft.

The other suspect is described as a man with a medium skin tone, black hair and facial hair. He was wearing a beige baseball hat, dark denim jacket, black shirt and blue jeans.

Both suspects were carrying yellow and black cannisters of bear spray during the second robbery, police said.

Anyone with information about the thefts or the suspects is asked to call the Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.