A 16-year-old Sooke boy was arrested on Monday morning after allegedly threatening a Village Food Markets employee with a knife the night before.
At 5:20 p.m. Sunday, the suspect, well known to police, entered the store with a friend and was caught stealing some yogurt by Village supervisor Derek McDougall.
“As I approached him at the till, one guy wandered away, and the other guy at the till bought some chocolate bars,” said McDougall.
“I approached him to stop. He handed the yogurt over right away and I tried to bring him upstairs.”
The suspect then pulled out a knife and started to walk toward McDougall, who then made a smart decision said RCMP Staff Sergeant Steve Wright.
“The employee wisely let him go,” said Wright, adding everything was captured on the store's closed circuit television system.
The boy then ran into the downtown core and disappeared. Another Village staff member recognized the suspect and gave the name to police, who arrested him at his house the following day.
“Police apprehended him without incident,” said Wright.
The RCMP is recommending the Crown charge the youth with robbery, assault with a weapon and theft under $5,000. There was also an outstanding warrant for his arrest for breaking and entering and five counts of breaching court orders. He was scheduled to appear in provincial court on Monday afternoon.
Nobody was hurt, and the investigation is ongoing.