Skip to content

Police dog hunts down Fringe thief

A man who pulled a “grab and dash” style robbery from a Fringe show Tuesday night was hunted down by Victoria PSD Bondo.
88278vicnewsPSDBondofeature
Victoria police service dog Bondo in training.

Pamela RothVictoria News

A man who pulled a “grab and dash” style robbery from a theatre hosting a Fringe show Tuesday night didn't get very far thanks to the nose of Victoria police service dog Bondo.

Just before 7 p.m., police received a call from a house manager about a robbery at a theatre in the 1400 block of Quadra Street.

According to police, the manager had been working the door for the fringe show when a man approached, grabbed the money bag for the night's show and took off. The manager called 911 and chased the suspect until she lost sight of him on Balmoral Road.

During the chase, the manager saw the suspect stash some money into his pockets, and drop some on the ground at the corner of Pandora Avenue and Vancouver Street.

At the same time, another witness called police to report a man crawling into a parkade in the 900 block of Balmoral Road. The man matched the description of the suspect, and police dog Bondo and his handler began the search.

The suspect was quickly found hiding in the bed of a pickup truck in the parkade. He was taken into custody and officers recovered some of the stolen cash. More money was later recovered near the corner of Pandora Avenue and Vancouver Street, but nearly half of the funds taken remain outstanding.

Charges of theft under $5,000 are now pending against the suspect, who is well known to police.