2 men plead guilty to armed robbery after 2022 ‘brazen’ Lower Mainland ‘crime spree’
Posted March 14, 2024 9:59 am.
Last Updated March 14, 2024 12:55 pm.
Two men involved in an armed robbery at a Port Coquitlam car dealership in 2022, sparking a Lower Mainland “crime spree,” have pleaded guilty to multiple charges, police said Thursday.
A region-wide chase on Nov. 22 of that year began at the Journey Chrysler dealership on Lougheed Highway. The incident saw shots fired at police as suspects led officers through Burnaby, Surrey, and beyond.
Coquitlam RCMP Insp. Darren Carr said at the time the “crime spree” was “extremely brazen and violent.” The suspects and police are said to have shot at each other as a high-speed pursuit unfolded. Shots were fired outside the dealership and then “onto the roadway.”
Police said the suspects left the dealership in a stolen vehicle, crashing it on Highway 1 near the King Edward overpass. The suspects then tried to run, with police arresting one man before he could get away while a second man was taken into custody later on.
The hours-long ordeal snarled traffic through multiple communities and forced several SkyTrain stations and bus stops to close during the evening rush.
Police say several people were hurt in the armed robbery prior to the chase, though none of the physical injuries were serious.
Kwabena Bosiako of Port Coquitlam and Omar Demetris of New Westminster pleaded guilty to multiple robbery- and weapons-related offences on March 7, 2024.
Bosiako and Demetris remain in custody, police say, awaiting sentencing.
Coquitlam RCMP says it is still asking the public for information regarding a further two suspects.
