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Beer in Saanich coffee shop foils petty thief

A patron openly gulping down a beer in a coffee shop drew the attention of Saanich police last week, and helped solve a liquor store theft.

A patron openly gulping down a beer in a coffee shop drew the attention of Saanich police last week, and helped solve a liquor store theft.

A man entered a liquor store in the 3500-block of Blanshard St. and left without paying for a bottle of vodka. He fled into Uptown.

Officers searched the shopping centre, and one officer entered the Starbucks location, only to notice that all the other patrons were watching a man in the corner drink a beer.

"It was determined that the suspect had tried to secrete himself into a very busy and populated location, and tried to disguise himself," said Sgt. Steve Eassie. "Unfortunately the mistake that he made was that rather than drinking a coffee, which would've been the beverage of choice for that location, he decided to drink beer."

The beer had been purchased, but he was also found to be in possession of a stolen bottle of vodka.

A 30-year-old Saanich man faces charges of theft under $5,000.

kslavin@saanichnews.com