Police staged a stake-out on Sunday night at a Burnaby fast food restaurant that put five men behind bars with two linked to another robbery.
A lone employee of an undisclosed business on North Burnaby Road was held up by an armed robber demanding cash at around 11 p.m., according to police.
Mounties say that when 19-year-old Jack Sharhan ran out with his loot to join his four friends waiting outside, he found himself surrounded by officers. He now faces a single robbery charge.
Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said police had received a tip that the young mischievous men were in the area and had begun approaching the business in a coordinated fashion.
"The only reason why we had to wait for him to come out was that we didn't want to risk the safety of the employee, said Chung. "The last thing we wanted was a hostage situation."
Two of the men arrested outside the business, 20-year-olds Reza Ayoubi and Mohammad Human Mohammad-Ashraf have been charged with one count of robbery each for a separate incident reported on Friday at a convenience store on Austin Avenue. The two other suspects were released from custody without charge while police continue their investigation.
"The three that are up for charges were known to police," said Chung. "We don't have anything at this point to suggest that this is gang-related but the investigation continues so who knows what we're going to find."
Chung said no one involved was hurt during the hold-up and police were able to take the five men into custody without incident.
Coquitlam RCMP continue to work together with detachments in Burnaby, Richmond and Ridge Meadows as well as the New Westminster Police Department to investigate this file.
