A North Vancouver man is facing multiple charges after an alleged crime spree that could have come from Grand Theft Auto Monday.
Upper Fraser Valley RCMP were called to a motel in Boston Bar after a couple reported a man robbed them and stole their vehicle. Investigators got a description of the stolen vehicle and put the word out to all detachments that patrol the Trans-Canada Highway.
An hour later, they received another dispatch, this time alerting them to an incident in Lytton, where two men caught someone in the act of trying to steal their truck. In his escape, the suspect hit one of the men with the stolen auto, police say, resulting in non-life threatening injuries.
After abandoning the vehicle, the suspect then flagged down the driver of a passing semi-truck who picked him up and promptly handed him over to a Lytton RCMP detachment member.
North Vancouver’s Aria Morshedizadeh, 21, appeared in a Chilliwack courtroom on Tuesday where the Crown swore two charges of robbery, two counts of breaking and entering, a charge of disguising his face with intent to commit an offence, two charges of theft of a motor vehicle, two charges of assault with a weapon, one charge of uttering threats and one charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
“Fortunately nobody was seriously injured during this incident,” said Cpl. Mike Rail, Upper Fraser Valley detachment spokesman. “Timely information shared by RCMP detachments along the Trans-Canada Highway played a key role in the apprehension of the suspect.”
