A 29-year-old Burnaby man was arrested Thursday night and charged with robbery, aggravated assault and uttering threats to cause bodily harm or death.
John Alexander Thomas Stronach is facing those charges in relation to an Aug. 4 incident in downtown Vancouver in which a security guard was beaten and robbed at about 4: 30 a.m. while on duty at a residential tower at 501 Pacific St.
Vancouver Police Department officers spotted Stronach in downtown Vancouver around 5 p.m. on Thursday and took him into custody.
Vancouver police Const. Jana McGuinness told The Vancouver Sun that the incident, which involved a South Asian security guard, is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The incident involved a group of people who were making noise near the rear entrance of the lobby. The security guard, a 26-year-old South Asian man from Surrey, requested they either come inside or leave.
The suspect allegedly followed the guard back to his post and attacked him. McGuinness said the man kneed the guard in the face and body multiple times, then punched and kicked him for several minutes.
Stronach's next provincial court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 15.
