2 more smash-and-grab jewelry robberies lead to chase, arrests
2 men, 3 boys face swath of charges
Ottawa police say smash-and-grab robbers struck two more jewelry stores Tuesday, but this time the suspects were caught after fleeing the crime scene.
In a news release Wednesday, police said the two latest robberies resembled 10 others that occurred this year.
Police said the first robbery happened on Riverside Drive in the Billings Bridge area at 4:23 p.m., and the second on Place d'Orléans Drive near the mall of the same name at 5:04 p.m. They did not name the stores targeted.
In each, a group of suspects entered a jewelry store, smashed display cases and stole their contents before escaping in a waiting vehicle that police said had been reported stolen.
Around 6:10 p.m., an officer spotted a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle on St-Joseph Boulevard.
Police said the driver fled an attempted traffic stop, but the vehicle was incapacitated during a chase with the help of a tire-deflation device and brought to a stop west of Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard by several police vehicles.
Police said two men and three youths were arrested and face a swath of charges including robbery, theft, conspiracy to commit theft and wearing a disguise to commit a crime.
Canadian retailers are raising the alarm over these brazen smash-and-grab robberies. A national advocacy group says the rising price of gold could be making this method more appealing.