A 32 year old male was arrested relating to a robbery that occurred in the parking lot of the Tillicum Mall shortly after 11:00 pm on Monday night.
A 20 year old victim was walking through the parking lot and was approached by the suspect. The suspect asked to use the cell phone of the victim and the victim provided the use of his phone to the suspect as a good Samaritan.
When the 32 year old suspect was unable to contact the person that he was calling, he told the victim that he was going to keep his phone. The victim pleaded with the suspect for the return of the phone to no avail. When the victim was threatened by the suspect, the victim fled to a nearby store and alerted police.
Numerous officers responded to the area and a male matching the suspect description was located several blocks away. The male denied his involvement, however, thanks to the expertise of a Saanich Police K9 officer, the stolen cell phone was located within a close proximity to where the male was stopped by police.
The suspect, Justin Ronald MONETTE, was held in police custody and made his first court appearance in Victoria Provincial Court on Tuesday morning. MONETTE is expected to make a further court appearance relating to these allegations in early June, and is facing one count of Robbery.
The 20 year old victim, a Saanich resident, was not injured during this incident and was thankful to have his cell phone returned.
Sgt. Steve Eassie #158