New Westminster – On July 7^th at approximately 5:18pm, a New Westminster Police Department officer responded to a call about a man who had been assaulted with pepper spray. After speaking with the victim, the officer learned that he had met someone at Columbia Square to sell an iPhone. The victim shared that he gave chase to a man who handed him counterfeit bills. The suspect then pepper sprayed the victim before fleeing the scene in a white Tesla with an unknown driver. Detectives are now asking the public to come forward if they witnessed this or if they have CCTV of the suspect vehicle.

The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, approximately 18-20 years old, with brown short hair, weighing approximately 120 pounds, standing 5’5” tall, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and black runners.

“Theft and assault are serious matters and our officers are following up on several investigative avenues to identify the suspect,” stated Sergeant Andrew Leaver. “We’re encouraging anyone who has CCTV in the area to please review it and reach out to officers if they have footage of this incident.”

Officers would like to remind residents that transactions on sites like Facebook Marketplace do carry some degree of risk. Anyone is welcome to use the lobby of the New Westminster Police Department, which is monitored by CCTV, as a location for their transaction.

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MEDIA CONTACT PERSON: Hailey Finnigan

PHONE: 604-529-2576

EMAIL: communications@nwpolice.org

FILE: 25-11406