Using a handy piece of modern technology, Saanich police arrested a 40-year-old Saanich man after he stole more than $1,000 in cash and four iPhones from two businesses on Quadra Street.
At about 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20 a man entered a business on the 3500-block of Quadra St. He waited for an employee to go to the back of the store and then went behind the front desk and stole a large amount of cash, all in front of a witness.
The witness called the police and gave a description of the man.
At about 9:15 p.m., staff at a restaurant about four blocks away from the first business reported that a man came in, sat down, and pretended to head for the washroom, but then entered a back storeroom and stole four iPhones from employees.
He left out the back, which staff found suspicious, so they checked surveillance video and provided information to the police.
Fortunately, an employee of the restaurant had a Find My iPhone app and had already located the phone within several blocks of the business.
Police tracked the phone to the rear parking lot of an apartment complex in the 900-block of McKenzie Ave., where they found a man matching descriptions from both thefts.
The man had the four of the cellphones and is now in custody, facing two charges of theft under $5,000.
The money from the first business was found by officers at about 4 a.m. at a bus stop near the second business.
kwells@goldstreamgazette.com
