POLICE – ‘Encounter’ arranged online led to motel room assault and robbery

A weekend robbery in a motel room has police reminding the public of the risks associated to arranging services with people online.

On Jan. 29, 2023, around 8:30 a.m., Kamloops RCMP frontline officers were called to a motel room on the 500-block of Columbia Street West, where a man had allegedly arranged an encounter with someone online, but instead was met by two men who assaulted him with a weapon and robbed him of his wallet and phone.

The suspects were described as Caucasian males: one was about 5 ft. 8 in. with a face tattoo of stars near his eyes, wearing a black and white checkered jacket, and carrying a mini sledge hammer. The second man was about 5 ft. 7 in. and skinny. They fled southbound on foot.

“The fact that this online interaction in of itself had a criminal nature, further increased the risk to the robbery victim and makes these types of offences very serious in nature,” said Cpl. Crystal Evelyn.

“This was a dangerous scenario that could have ended much worse, which is why we are reminding the public to be wary of what services they are purchasing online and the risks attached.”

No matter the circumstances surrounding a crime, it’s important for victims to contact police to report these offences so that they can be investigated to help reduce reoccurrence., she said.

Anyone who witnessed or has information related to this investigation is asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP Detachment at 250-828-3000 and reference 2023-3442.