By Ashley Legassic

UPDATE: One man charged in connection to Kamloops robbery, kidnapping

Feb 15, 2019 | 8:55 AM

KAMLOOPS — A man has been charged in connection to an armed robbery and kidnapping in Kamloops yesterday.

Justin William Daniels, born in 1980, has been charged with robbery using a restricted or prohibited firearm, and unlawful confinement or imprisonment, according to court documents.

Police have released more details about a kidnapping that led to a massive police presence spanning from Kamloops to Kelowna yesterday.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says in a news release that early yesterday morning (Feb. 14), two men and a woman were robbed by two men armed with guns downtown. After the robbery, police believed the suspects took the woman against her will in one of the other victim’s vehicles.

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During the investigation, police learned the suspects may be headed to a home on Dallas Drive. Officers secured the area and determined the home had been ransacked and was empty. The temporary cordon on Dallas Drive was then removed.

The victim’s stolen vehicle was later located empty in an area near Barnhartvale Road and Highway 97.

Shelkie says further investigation then led police to an address in Kelowna, and officers from Kamloops, Kelowna and the Southeast District’s emergency response team converged on an apartment building on Bernard Avenue. One of the robbery suspects was arrested but the victim wasn’t located.

Police say this morning officers learned the woman could be in a vehicle travelling from Kelowna to Kamloops. It was stopped by police near Falkland and officers arrested two suspects — a man and a woman — and located the kidnapped woman. She was uninjured, and firearms were also seized from the vehicle.

Shelkie says the detachment thanks the media and community for their patience during the situation, and would have communicated any immediate public safety concerns, however the situation was dynamic and unfolding. She adds that while the investigation was ongoing, what may have been perceived as lack of communication was a “measured, operational strategy.”

“First and foremost, our concern was for the woman who had been kidnapped,” said Shelkie. “The danger that she was in cannot be overemphasized.  Officers knew that the suspects were armed.  It was unknown what their intent was regarding her life.  Few details could be released to the media to protect our investigation and ultimately, help get this woman back to safety.”

Police are working to identify and locate the second suspect involved in the robbery. Shelkie says it’s clear this was a targeted crime and involved people in the local drug trade.