U.S. man sentenced for armed robberies committed on the Lower Mainland

A U.S. man has been sentenced to a five-year sentence in a Canadian jail for a series of armed robberies committed in Metro Vancouver.

In December of 2012, police issued a public appeal for information on the man suspected of being involved in eight brazen robberies of neighbourhood grocery stores.

The robberies occurred between March and December of 2012 in municipalities of West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver and Burnaby.

The appeal generated many tips, which identified a Squamish resident as a possible suspect.

A few days later, he was arrested while trying to cross into the United States.

The 68-year-old man was taken into custody on an outstanding U.S warrant from 1972 that related to allegations of desertion from the U.S Air Force.

Local robbery investigators were contacted by the American authorities. They determined the man in custody had been living in Canada under an assumed name, and that he was being investigated by multiple police agencies on the Lower Mainland for the armed robberies.

Thomas John Schwartz, also known as Tom Stone, was charged with robbery and weapons related offences. He was then extradited from the United States back to Canada.