WATCH: York Regional Police chopper captures dramatic armed robbery arrests
Posted February 3, 2023 12:09 pm.
Last Updated February 3, 2023 12:17 pm.
York Regional Police have released a dramatic chopper video showing four armed robbery suspects being arrested moments after allegedly robbing a bank in Whitby.
Police were able to track the suspects after they were involved in a previous botched robbery attempt earlier the same day on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023.
In the initial instance, police were called to a currency exchange store in Richmond Hill for reports of an attempted armed robbery.
“Officers learned two male suspects armed with a firearm attempted to gain entry as the victim was opening the store,” police explained in a release. “The victim was able to flee, and the two male suspects left in a dark-coloured Mazda.”
Not long after, the Air2 police helicopter spotted the suspect vehicle as it headed into Durham Region on Highway 407.
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Not realizing they were being trailed, police say the suspects held up a bank at gunpoint in the area of Victoria Street West and Gordon Street in Whitby.
That’s when ground units moved in to make arrests.
The suspects went on a mad but ultimately futile dash for freedom and were all arrested outside of the bank.
Video captured from the chopper shows the suspects, dressed in dark clothing and hoodies, frantically scattering as officers close in.
One suspect can be seen sprawled on the ground surrendering before the chopper video cuts out.
Police later determined that the suspect vehicle’s licence plate was stolen.
“Hold-Up Unit investigators have linked the four suspects to a pharmacy robbery in Peel and a jewellery store in Oakville on Jan. 18, 2023, as well as a robbery at an electrical supply store in Vaughan on Jan. 19, 2023,” police added.
The suspects, a 21-year-old man of no fixed address, a 20-year-old man from Stoney Creek and two youths aged 15 and 16, are facing 46 charges, including robbery with a firearm, robbery and disguise with intent.
