Suspects charged after Surrey jewelry store robbery and shooting

Two men and a woman have been arrested in connection to an armed robbery at a Surrey jewelry store that was caught on camera last month.

Two of the suspects – a man and a woman – have been charged and are being held in custody pending their next court appearance, Surrey RCMP said in a news release Friday.

The third suspect was released without charges, pending further investigation, according to police.

All three arrests stemmed from the chaos that unfolded at the business near 101 Avenue and 152 Street on the evening of Feb. 18.

Video shared with CTV News in the days after the incident appears to show the final moments of the confrontation. In the video, yelling can be heard outside the store, followed by gunshots.

The victim, the store's owner, was shot four times after he attempted to stop the suspects from stealing merchandise, according to Mazhar Qawasmeh, the manager of the business.

"He’s lucky to be alive," Qawasmeh told CTV News on Feb. 20. "I mean, to be shot from zero distance four times, that’s a miracle."

Police said the victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Surrey RCMP's Serious Crime Unit took over the investigation. Two suspects were arrested in Calgary on Feb. 27, police said Friday.

Those suspects, 36-year-old Michael Onischuk and 32-year-old Larrissa Cowan, have each been charged with aggravated assault and robbery using a restricted firearm. Onischuk has also been charged with using a firearm in an indictable offence, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm with intent to wound or disfigure, according to online court records associated with the RCMP file number.

Mounties said the pair had been remanded in custody until their next court appearance, but online court records suggested the two are not in custody. The records also do not list any scheduled appearances related to the charges.

Asked for clarification, Surrey RCMP explained the suspects remain in custody in Calgary and are awaiting transfer to Surrey, which is why their custody and appearance information is not yet in B.C.'s system.

The third suspect, identified by police only as a 33-year-old Vancouver man, was arrested in Langley on March 1. He has since been released pending further investigation, police said.

Investigators are still working on the file, and have executed search warrants in multiple locations, according to RCMP.

"As criminals continue to work across seemingly imaginary borders, the Surrey RCMP will continue to use all investigative tools and policing partnerships to seek them out," said Insp. Darren Schneider, of the Surrey RCMP Serious Crime Unit, in the release.

He thanked several other police agencies – including the Calgary Police Service, Vancouver Police Department, Lower Mainland Integrated Forensic Identification Services, North Vancouver RCMP, Ridge Meadows RCMP and Hope RCMP – for their help with the investigation.  

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Michele Brunoro