Brandishing hammers and machetes, the crooks doused a clerk in lighter fluid and made off with about $80,000 in merchandise from two pawn shops in Surrey and a jewelry store in Burnaby.
Between May 22 and June 5 this year, a group robbed Super Pawn in North Surrey (May 22) and Roath's Pawn Shop (May 31), making off with $50,000 in merchandise from the stores, and then hit Station Jewelers in Burnaby on June 5, where another $30,000 in product was stolen.
Police now say they have identified seven men and a woman and have laid charges against those believed to be involved.
All were charged with the Burnaby robbery, and one with the Surrey thefts, however, police expect more individuals will be charged with heists in both cities.
“This was an organized goal-oriented group that had no regard for public safety and displayed reckless behavior putting innocent people’s lives at risk,” Surrey RCMP Property Crime Section Insp. Wade Lym
burner said in a release Wednesday. “Arresting these suspects was a top priority for us.”
Investigators soon identified a person of interest. Surrey RCMP’s Strike Force Target Team surveilled the suspect and identified an organized group that may have been responsible for the robberies.
Charged with robbery and disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence are; Jordan Boucher, 26, of no fixed address, and Kevin Campbell, 25, Jeffery Greenwood, 27, Raymond Hawse, 39, Phuong Thi Le, (female) 21, Anthony Nguyen, 20, Sonny Nguyen, 19 and Bobby Prasad, 37 – all from Surrey.
Police are looking for the public’s assistance in locating one of the eight who has yet to be arrested – 27-year-old Jeffrey Greenwood of Surrey. He is described as a Caucasian male, 6’0”, 166 lbs, with blue eyes and a distinctive tattoo of a dog on his neck.
Items stolen from the Surrey pawn shops have not been recovered. Among that jewelry is a distinctive Harley
Davidson gold belt buckle worth approximately $3,000.
Anyone with more information on the outstanding suspect or property is asked to contact Const. Khan of the Surrey RCMP Robbery Section at 604-507-5940.