A Squamish man currently in U.S. custody for allegedly having deserted from the U.S. Air Force has agreed to be extradited to Canada to faces charges in a string of robberies in the Lower Mainland.
Thomas John Schwartz, a.k.a. Thomas John Stone, was arrested after he tried to cross the border from Canada into the United States on Dec. 15, 2012. U.S. authorities allege that he deserted from the U.S. Air Force in 1972 and fled to Canada.
Canadian authorities sought his extradition to face trial for 12 separate robberies that occurred in the Vancouver area between March and November 2012.
Schwartz is alleged to have used an "imitation firearm" in at least four of the incidents.
Six robberies occurred at stores on the North Shore, according to court documents.
Schwartz, who has been in U.S. custody since December, faced an extradition hearing on Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
During the hearing, "he agreed to be extradited," Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office's Western Washington branch, wrote in an email.
"He likely will be back in Canada within the next 90 days," Langlie wrote. "Various country-to-country notifications have to happen."
