An Abbotsford man has been charged in relation to a robbery and a theft that occurred within minutes of each other on Boxing Day (Dec. 26).
Abbotsford Police Const. Paul Walker said the first incident took place at about 3:15 p.m., when a man entered the lobby of a hotel in the 32000 block of Marshall Road.
Walker said the suspect implied that he had a weapon and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.
After leaving the hotel, the man allegedly conducted a theft at a liquor store across the street, Walker said.
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He said patrol officers arrived in the area and determined that the two incidents had been committed by the same man.
They were able to identify the suspect and located him at 4:07 p.m. in the area of Gladys and Essendene avenues. He was taken into custody without incident.
Johnathan Rath has now been charged with robbery and theft under $5,000.
Walker said Abbotsford Police officers work hard to send a message that “crime isn’t acceptable in Abbotsford.”
“This is another example of the teamwork and professionalism shown by our AbbyPD patrol officers in locating and arresting an offender within an hour of two impactful crimes on citizens of Abbotsford,” Walker said.
Rath was sentenced in July 2019 for robbing a liquor store earlier that year and in October 2018 in relation to an incident on Aug. 25, 2018 in which he kicked a car as the driver was attempting to park and threatened the two people inside before taking their cellphone.
According to the provincial court database, Rath has prior convictions for offences such as using a forged document, theft, robbery, mischief, assault, uttering threats, forcible entry, assault causing bodily harm, break-and-enter and breaching his probation.
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