A 32-year-old Delta man is facing several charges after allegedly punching a youth in an attempted robbery of a group of teenagers in Tsawwassen early Sunday morning.
Katlin James Richardson is facing three counts of robbery, one count of uttering threats with the intent to cause bodily harm and one count of assault.
He has been remanded in custody and will make his next appearance in Surrey provincial court on Friday.
According to Delta police, on June 2, shortly after 1 a.m., a man approached six youths walking near 1st Ave. and English Bluff Rd. in Tsawwassen.
The man allegedly instructed the youths to hand over their valuables, and threatened to shoot them if they did not obey his instructions. One youth explained that he did not have a wallet on him, and was allegedly punched twice in the face.
The youths ran away, and called 9-1-1. Police arrived on scene within five minutes and located the youths nearby, standing and waiting for police.
During the follow up investigation a Tsawwassen resident called DPD to report video footage of a suspicious male from that night.
“This footage proved instrumental in the investigation,” said Insp. Guy Leeson in a news release.
He points out that DPD has a program called the Community Watch Program, whereby residents and businesses can easily register the presence of their security video cameras. Video footage can be extremely valuable to police, assisting in solving everything from theft from autos to more serious investigations, he said.
DPD’s Property Crime Unit took over the investigation and secured a search warrant, making an arrest shortly thereafter.
“Robberies are relatively rare, and the public should be assured that Delta is a safe community,” said Leeson, adding the suspect and the youths were not known to each other prior to this incident. “I also want to commend the youths for their presence of mind that evening, as they were able to quickly contact police and provide valuable information which allowed our investigation to proceed rapidly.”
