Richmond RCMP have now laid charges against a Richmond couple after police raided their family home and removed a truckload of stolen toys.
Alyssa John, 35, faced eight charges of theft under $5,000 in Richmond Provincial Court Tuesday morning and her husband Darren, also 35, faced five similar charges. The charges stem from alleged shoplifting incidents dating as far back as July and ranging over several days. The theft included toys and children’s clothing.
Alyssa John, who lives in in the 4700 block of Steveston Highway (just west of Railway Avenue), then allegedly sold the stolen items online to families predominantly in the Richmond area through the “Steveston Kid Swap and Shop” Facebook page.
At the time the News first reported on the story last month, pictures of the Oct. 1 raid — posted on the Facebook page before being taken down shortly after — led to a flurry of calls to RCMP from worried parents concerned about being in possession of stolen goods.
“They’re worried they might lose the Christmas presents they bought for their kids and that they can’t afford to buy new ones,” said Cpl. Stephanie Ashton, media relations officer, at the time.
Due to the nature of identifying the stolen toys, they won't be repossessed from parents, but Ashton warned repossession without compensation is always a risk when buying online from an unofficial source.
“If I had one message to give people it would be this, when you buy online and the deal seems too good to be true, you are probably dealing with someone who has obtained those items through crime,” she said.
The concern from the parents highlighted the financial struggles many families go through during the holiday season, according to Ashton. The RCMP are now looking for ways to donate the toys that can't be returned to stores — due to lack of identification — to families in need.
"It's kind of a sad case, really," said Ashton.
The RCMP partnered with loss prevention officers at Toys ’R’ Us and TJX Canada (which owns Winners, Homesense and Marshalls) for the investigation.
Anyone with information related to this matter can contact police at Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
