A shoplifting incident turned into a robbery after a suspect brandished a knife this morning at a north-end supermarket.
A man was arrested and is being held in custody until sober following what police described as a robbery at the Real Canadian Superstore. Nanaimo RCMP were called shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 7, after a suspected shoplifter pulled a knife when he was confronted by a loss prevention officer.
“He stole a number of items, he left the store and when confronted by the LPO he brandished a knife, he waved it around, and the LPO let him go,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman.
Police caught up with the suspect in a parking lot a short distance away and arrested him without incident. During the arrest investigators allegedly found a knife and a machete in the man’s possession. He was under an existing court order not to possess weapons and he also appeared to be under the influence of an unknown intoxicating substance.
“He was high. He was booked into cells and when sober he will be released,” O’Brien said.
The 25-year-old man, of no fixed address, will also be facing to-be-determined charges and will be expected to appear in provincial court in Nanaimo at a later date.
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