A 27-year-old man of no fixed address has been charged in two robberies, including one where his friends left him to pay the bill at Earl's restaurant in Langley.
Gregory James Fader has been charged with one count of robbery using an imitation firearm and another count of robbery.
The first robbery took place on Nov. 17, when police allege Fader approached the cashier at the customer service desk in Langley City Save-On-Foods and demanded the cash from the till. Cash was given to the robber before he fled the store.
Later that night, Fader was at the Earl’s restaurant with a group of acquaintances. The balance of the group left Fader in the restaurant to settle the bill, Langley RCMP said.
Police allege that rather than paying the bill, the man produced what appeared to be a firearm and demanded cash. When employees did not provide any, he allegedly took several bank deposit bags from a desk and fled. It's believed the bags contained over $1,000, said police.
Later that evening, officers saw a man who matched the description provided by the victims in each robbery. Fader was arrested and brought back to Langley detachment cells.
Fader has been remanded in custody and appears in Surrey Provincial Court on Nov. 27. He is also facing break-and-enter charges along with two others from an alleged crime that took place in May in Langley. One woman has already been sentenced to one day in jail for that crime.