A Surrey man has been charged following the robberies of two businesses in 30 minutes on Tuesday night in Abbotsford.
Jason Hendrick Degroot, 44, has been charged with robbery and attempted robbery.
The first robbery took place at about 8 p.m. at a business in the 32300 block of South Fraser Way.
A man approached the cashier and produced a note demanding cash.
He fled the business, and staff contacted the Abbotsford Police Department (APD).
At 8:30 p.m., while officers were on scene in the store and searching for the suspect in the area, a second robbery was reported at a restaurant in the 32900 block of South Fraser Way.
In that case, the man made a verbal demand for cash.
Based on descriptions provided by witnesses and the security video from the business, it was quickly determined that the same suspect was involved.
Additional APD patrol, bike squad and K9 officers arrived at the second scene.
The suspect was located a few minutes later and was arrested after a short foot pursuit.
Const. Ian MacDonald said staff from both locations are to be commended.
"They were excellent witnesses and handled the extremely stressful situations very well," MacDonald said.
He said no weapons were used in either robbery.
According to the provincial court database, Degroot has several prior convictions for robbery and theft, as well as assault with a weapon, theft, breaching his probation and possession of property obtained by crime.