Four people are facing charges in connection to a series of armed robberies in York, Durham, Peel and Halton.
On Friday, January 20, shortly after 10 a.m., York police were called to a currency exchange store in the area of Yonge Street and North Lake Road in Richmond Hill for a report of an attempted armed robbery.
Officers learned two suspects, armed with a gun, tried to get in as the victim was opening the store.
The victim was able to run and the two men left in a dark-coloured Mazda.
Air2 located the vehicle on the 407 and monitored it traveling into Durham.
Officers with the Hold-Up, Canine and Emergency Response Units located the vehicle, along with four male suspects, as they committed an armed robbery at a bank in the area of Victoria Street West and Gordon Street in Whitby.
The suspects tried to flee the area, but were unsuccessful and were all arrested outside of the bank.
The vehicle’s licence plate was determined to be stolen.
Investigators have linked the four suspects to a pharmacy robbery in Peel and a jewellery store in Oakville on January 18, as well as a robbery at an electrical supply store in Vaughan on January 19.
A 21-year-old man with no fixed address, a 20-year-old man from Stoney Creek, along with two youths, a 16-year-old from Brampton and a 15-year-old from Toronto, have been charged with a combined 46 criminal charges.
Investigators are asking witnesses from any of the robberies who may have seen anything in the area or anyone who may have cell phone, dashcam or video surveillance footage in the area at the time to call 1-866-876-5423 ext. 6630 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
Photo courtesy of YRP