VICTORIA -- Police have arrested two more people in connection with an hours-long standoff inside a Victoria apartment building last week.
Officers were called to the three-storey building in the 2300-block of Cook Street at approximately 7:45 a.m. Thursday for a report of a robbery and assault. A man was taken to hospital after he was allegedly assaulted with a weapon.
One man remained holed up inside the building for hours as crisis negotiators and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team closed nearby streets and evacuated neighbouring apartment units.
Heavily armed officers eventually used stun grenades and entered the building in the early evening. Officers arrested the man while two people – a man and a woman – suspected of being involved in the incident remained at large.
On Monday at approximately 1:30 p.m., a Victoria police canine unit spotted the two suspects at a bus stop in the 1000-block of Hillside Avenue. The woman was arrested while the man fled on foot, police said Tuesday.
The man was eventually arrested at 4:30 p.m. at a residential building on the same block of Hillside.
Police say John William Crawford, a 30-year-old Victoria man, is charged with aggravated assault and robbery. He was also wanted on outstanding warrants in relation to 2019 charges of break-and-enter, mischief under $5000, and theft under $5000, according to police.
He is being held in police custody.
The woman, who police did not name, is facing recommended charges of aggravated assault and robbery, according to police. She has been released pending a court appearance.
Anyone with information on the case who has not spoken with police is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654 or Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
