A male suspect has been arrested for allegedly trying to rob an elderly woman and attacking her with pepper spray.
On Jan. 24, 2023, North Vancouver RCMP responded to reports of an attempted robbery after a senior trying to sell her phone met with someone in Victoria Park.
During the exchange, arranged through Facebook Marketplace, the suspect pepper sprayed the 74-year-old woman and tried to steal her phone, police said in a statement.
But the suspect was unsuccessful in the robbery attempt, and fled west from the park.
Following an investigation, RCMP arrested the suspect on May 3, 2024 after executing a search warrant at a Vancouver address.
The man has since been released and has a court appearance on July 10, police said.
Because police had to determine the identity of the subject, the investigation was complex, explained Const. Mansoor Sahak, spokesperson for North Vancouver RCMP.
“In most cases that require search warrants it’s very time consuming,” he said.
For the victim, the event was traumatizing, Sahak added.
“Having to go through the experience of being pepper sprayed, especially as a senior, is very painful,” he said, reflecting on his own experience of being sprayed. “It’s excruciating pain.”
Sahak said the woman was very thankful that an arrest was made.
“We hope that this arrest provides some sort of reassurance for her, and that her sense of safety is restored to some degree,” he said.
Police recommend anyone making an in-person transaction via Facebook Marketplace or other online services to use a safe zone outside the detachment at 147 East 14th St., North Vancouver.
