Two suspects sought in a daytime armed robbery of a Qualicum Beach service station have been arrested in Port Alberni following the help of a hotel surveillance video, Oceanside RCMP announced in a written news release Monday, March 12.
Police were originally called to the Shell station in Qualicum Beach March 6 with a report of a robbery by a knife-weilding man.
Related: RCMP looking for suspect of alleged armed robbery in Qualicum Beach
Witness reports led officers in the direction the suspect had traveled on foot, and a canvas of surrounding businesses led investigators to a local hotel that “had excellent video surveillance” that captured the suspect getting into a waiting vehicle,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jesse Foreman said in the release.
Police tracked the vehicle to a residence in Port Alberni and conducted surveillance, which led to the arrest March 7 of 24-year-old Damian Nathan Thiessen, of no fixed address, for robbery and disguise with intent. Additional evidence led the RCMP to the arrest of 32-year-old Travis Allen Sauls of Port Alberni, who was described as the “getaway driver,” on a robbery count.
The men made initial court appearances March 9 in Nanaimo Provincial Court, police said, and were released on bail pending their next appearance March 27.
— NEWS staff/Oceanside RCMP