Arrest made after alleged thief caught pawning stolen goods | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Arrest made after alleged thief caught pawning stolen goods

Image Credit: InfoTel Multimedia

RCMP tracked a robbery suspect to a local cheque cashing store after the victim recognized her stolen jewellery at a gold and silver exchange outlet.

The 24-year-old Lillooet man is expected to face charges of possession of stolen property in connection with a break and enter and robbery that took place last week.

A 38-year-old woman returned to her Fernie Place home about 10 p.m. Thursday to find it in shambles. She also realized jewellery worth thousands of dollars was missing.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said two men successfully pawned the stolen jewellery at a precious metal exchange business on Victoria Street about 1:15 p.m. the following day.

According to police, the owner of the jewellery visited the store shortly after the jewellery was pawned and immediately recognized her belongings.

The two suspects fled the scene but were described as being clean cut, thinly built, teenage native males with spiky hair.

RCMP responded to the incident and anticipated that they would try to cash the cheque received for the pawned jewellery.

An officer spotted one of the suspects outside Money Mart on Tranquille Road in North Kamloops.

"We spotted them with good calculations, good thinking and sharp eye work from one of the officers," Learned said.

A Money Mart employee who asked not to be named said the man was not able to cash the cheque in compliance with bylaws that require at least two pieces of identification, including one piece of government issued identification including a photo.

She said due diligence requires employees to create a file for each customer.

"When someone goes into pawn goods, the broker has to obtain identification. You can't just take stuff without any form of identification, they have to track it," Learned said.

RCMP arrested the man and processed him before releasing him from custody with an anticipated date in court.

Learned said the man was not known to police.

"I don't believe there was very much information on that guy," he said.

Learned said he is unaware of the exact value of the goods, that are said to include pricey Italian gold. Learned was hesitant to release information that could leave the victim in turmoil while facing insurance companies.

"I've heard differing accounts," Learned said. "I haven't seen anything on paper in terms of the final count."

— Jessica Wallace
jwallace@infotelnews.ca
(250)319-7494

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