Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP were busy Tuesday afternoon looking for a man who allegedly committed two robberies in two hours.
Shortly before 2 p.m., police responded to a robbery at a business in the 3100 block of Highway 6 in Vernon. A suspect man allegedly threatened staff, then fled in a black Dodge truck with a stolen Alberta licence plate prior to police arrival.
The vehicle description and stolen licence plate, as well as the suspect description, were disseminated to police working within the Okanagan corridor.
At approximately 3:45 p.m., a second robbery occurred at a business in the 4800-block of 27th Street in Vernon.
The suspect allegedly fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, cigarettes and lottery tickets in a similar Dodge truck with the same stolen Alberta licence plate. Despite numerous patrols, the suspect vehicle was not located.
Less than an hour later, a police officer patrolling in Lake Country observed a similar black Dodge truck with the same stolen Alberta licence plate. When the police officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the driver allegedly fled at a high rate of speed toward Kelowna.
Police located the Dodge truck abandoned in downtown Kelowna and with the assistance of the RCMP Police Dog Service, a male suspect was taken into custody.
The 28-year-old man from Kelowna will appear in Vernon court on numerous criminal charges.
