Video: Brampton teen among 4 suspects charged in string of armed robberies in Oakville, Richmond Hill, Whitby

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Published February 3, 2023 at 3:25 pm

Police rush to arrest a suspected bank robber in Whitby, later linked to several other crimes in the GTA. - via York Regional Police.

Four suspects, two of whom are teenagers, have been charged with more than 40 combined charges after a string of armed robberies across the Greater Toronto Area., including Durham, Halton, Peel and York Regions.

York Regional Police announced the arrests of the quartet on Feb. 3. According to York police, they got a 911 call about an armed robbery at a currency exchange on Yonge St. and North Lake Rd. in the north end of Richmond Hill.

Investigators later learned two men, armed with a pistol, tried to force entry as a worker opened the store for the day. However, the worker got away from the men and the pair fled in a dark Mazda.

Police brought in their helicopter Air-2 to track down the Mazda as it raced down Hwy. 407 into Durham Region. The Mazda made its way into Whitby and tried to rob a Scotiabank on Victoria St. and Gordon St. in the town’s south.

The bank sits about 65 kilometres or 45 minutes away from the currency exchange.

As the quartet allegedly tried to rob the bank, officers with the York police Hold-Up, Canine and Emergency Response Units caught up to them.

Spotting the officers, the quartet tried to flee the scene. However, they were all arrested just outside the bank.

Air-2 captured the arrests on video. The publically released footage cuts in with the Mazda in the parking lot of a plaza. Three men step out of the car and make their way inside the Scotiabank.

The video then cuts to another angle sometime later. Three suspects are seen running along the front of the plaza with two unmarked cars in pursuit. The men run across a grass barrier as the cars follow them on to the sidewalk.

One of the men lags behind his peers and is caught by a white SUV. Two others run back across the grass and around the corner of the plaza. However, they are quickly tackled by other on-foot officers.

After scanning the Mazda’s license plate, police determined the car had been stolen. The Hold-Up squad continued to investigate the quartet, linking them to a pharmacy robbery in Peel Region and a jewelry store robbery in Oakville both on Jan. 18 as well as an electrical supply store in Vaughan.

The suspects have been charged with a combined 42 offences including robbery with a firearm, robbery, disguise with intent and failure to comply with a court order.

The suspects include: a 21-year-old man of no fixed address, a 20-year-old man from Stoney Creek, 16-year-old boy from Brampton and a 15-year-old boy from Toronto.

Anyone with information about these robberies can call York police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

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