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Richmond men facing charges in robbery of Vancouver senior

77-year-old man was allegedly pushed to the ground, robbed near Commercial Drive and Grandview Highway
Coleton Reid Szalay
Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of 23-year-old Coleton Reid Szalay in last month’s robbery of a 77-year-old man near Commercial Drive and Grandview Highway. Photo courtesy Vancouver Police Department

Vancouver police have identified two Richmond men in last month’s alleged robbery of a senior on Commercial Drive.

Duncan McCaffery Fowler, 25, and Coleton Reid Szalay, 23, have each been charged with robbery following the alleged April 28 incident. Investigators believe the two men were in the area of Commercial Drive and North Grandview Highway at around 4 p.m. that day, at the same time a 77-year-old man was knocked to the ground and robbed.

The suspects allegedly followed the victim into the payday loan store about three blocks north of the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station, watching him obtain several hundred dollars in cash and then following him into a grocery store. The man was knocked to the ground after he left the store and the two suspects allegedly ran off with his wallet, cash and identification. The man suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

On May 16, Vancouver police released a public plea for help identifying the two men suspected in the robbery.

Fowler was arrested in Richmond on Thursday and has been released pending his next court appearance. Police are still looking for Szalay, who is now wanted Canada-wide.

Anyone with information about Szalay’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

@JessicaEKerr

jkerr@vancourier.com