A man has been arrested, and authorities are seeking two additional suspects connected to a violent distraction robbery that took place last month in Richmond Hill.
York Regional Police report that the individual charged is thought to be part of a group of foreign nationals operating in the area.
According to a news release from police on Friday, officers responded to an incident in a parking lot near Yonge Street and Canyon Hill Avenue around 11:15 a. m. on July 15. There, they discovered a 78-year-old woman who had been violently robbed of her jewelry.
A 35-year-old man was taken into custody on Tuesday, as stated by Const. James Dickson.
Police have released video footage of the robbery as they continue their search for two individuals-one man and one woman-who were also believed to be inside the vehicle during the crime.
Dickson noted that the woman sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries.
“They were trying to steal her gold bracelet and ended up hitting her with the car, knocking her down,” he said.
WATCH | Police release video of July distraction theft:
The suspect fled in a rental white 2024 Nissan Rogue before officers arrived at the scene. Dickson mentioned that police have since located and returned that vehicle.
‘Very concerning’
Dickson expressed concerns about people coming to Canada specifically for criminal activities.
“This is something that’s very concerning for us,” he said.
“There’s no one specific nationality that is involved in this kind of a theft,” said Dickson.
In this case, authorities are still trying to figure out how long this group might have been active.
Dickson mentioned that sometimes suspects don’t stay in Canada for long after committing their crimes.
“It’s something that oftentimes they can get away with,” he said.</pp
However, he added that this isn’t the only criminal network focusing on distraction-style thefts out there.</pp
The frequency of distraction-style thefts tends to rise during warmer months, according to Dickson. He advised caution if someone approaches asking for directions or showing jewelry or trying to engage people in conversation in parking lots or similar areas.<pp
This year has also seen an increase in violent robberies overall, according to police statistics.<pp
“Whether people are being shoved, whether it’s a level of aggression to steal these items or in this case where someone’s actually struck by a vehicle,” he said.<pp
If anyone has information regarding these incidents, they are encouraged to reach out to police or Crime Stoppers.
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