Man charged as shoplifting incident escalates into armed robbery, car theft
Ottawa Canada December 29 2018
Ottawa police have arrested a man in connection with a shoplifting incident that escalated after the man was confronted by store security.
The incident took place on the afternoon of Christmas Eve at a store on Strandherd Drive in Barrhaven.
A man was seen concealing merchandise from the sporting goods department of the store, and then leaving without paying.
When a security guard confronted him outside, the suspect pulled out a knife before fleeing and stealing a car from the parking lot.
Patrol officers located the suspect soon after and arrested him without further incident.
James Rush, 33, was charged with armed robbery, vehicle theft, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, possession of a weapon and breach of probation.
He was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
