B.C. man charged with robbery after allegedly shoving woman to the ground, stealing her phone

Metro Vancouver Transit Police say a man has been charged in connection with a violent cell phone robbery at the King George SkyTrain station.

According to police, the incident happened on Nov. 27, around 5:30 p.m.

Police say a woman was walking past the station using her phone, when a man grabbed the handset and tried to wrestle it out of her hand.

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In the ensuing scuffle, the man shoved the woman to the ground and straddled her waist, police said.

He’s then alleged to have pushed her face into the ground and pulled the phone from her hands.

Police said as the man walked away, the woman tried to retrieve her phone, at which point the suspect shoved her into some bushes before fleeing.

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Several passers-by came to the victim’s aid, and waited with her until police arrived.

Not long afterward, Surrey RCMP responded to an unrelated call and realized the man they were speaking with matched the cell phone thief’s description, transit police said.

Police determined the man had the stolen phone and handed him off to transit police.

Aaron Sutherland, 41, has been charged with one count of robbery and is due back in court on Dec. 11.