Police on Vancouver Island hope people can identify two suspects alleged to have made purchases with a stolen credit card and were chased by the credit card’s owner, who was armed with a baseball bat.
According to an Nanaimo RCMP press release, the 27-year-old victim told investigators his wallet had been stolen from his unlocked vehicle last Sunday and that he did not report the theft, but was monitoring for fraudulent transactions. On Monday, his credit card company notified him the card had been used in a transaction at the Co-op on Victoria Crescent in downtown Nanaimo and again on Tuesday at the 7-Eleven in the Harewood area of Nanaimo.
The victim drove to the 7-Eleven with a baseball bat and, after speaking with an employee, confronted several people sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot, the press release said. The vehicle fled with the victim in close pursuit.
The victim told police the two suspects were dropped off nearby, to where an RCMP police dog service team was dispatched and located several pieces of clothing discarded by the suspects, according to the press release. The suspects and the vehicle, however, were not located.
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Since then, investigators have obtained a photo of the suspects from video surveillance footage taken Monday night at the Co-op.
According to the press release, the male suspect is said to be Caucasian and was wearing a blue jacket with brown sleeves. The female suspect is also Caucasian and was wearing a white winter jacket with black accents and black pants.
The stolen wallet and credit card have not been recovered.
“We do not recommend any of the actions taken by the victim,” Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said in the press release. “If your wallet is stolen and it contains credit cards, you should always call your credit card company to cancel them and call the police to report the theft. Secondly, confronting individuals is not advisable, and showing up with a baseball bat is never a good idea.”
Anyone with information about the identify of the two suspects is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.
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