Port Moody seniors may be a little safer with a notorious scammer behind bars.
Donald Robert Quinnell pled guilty to 22 counts of fraud, and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.
The charges were for offences committed in North Vancouver, Vancouver, Port Moody and West Vancouver, all of which were laid by BC Prosecution Service in North Vancouver Provincial Court.
"We're happy to let our senior community members in particular know that their community is a little safer today," said Sgt. Peter DeVries of the North Vancouver RCMP in a press release.
"This investigation offers a good example of cross-jurisdictional cooperation. We were able to identify the suspect in these frauds because of good information sharing between our departments, and we were able to provide the court with evidence from each of our jurisdictions as a collective law enforcement group."
Quinnell had been the subject of warnings in multiple jurisdictions. It was alleged that he approached lone elderly people under the pretence of offering help. Many of the victims were targeted in grocery store parking lots and outside residences, police said.
DeVries added that at the time Quinnell presented himself as a well dressed, well mannered man in his 40s or 50s.
“In some cases he says he has locked his keys out of his car and needs help, in others he offers to help carry groceries,” DeVries said. “His goal is to win the trust of his victims. Once he has their trust, he works his way into their car or home, and then quietly steals their wallets, purses and other valuables. At this time, he does not appear to pose any threat of physical violence to his victims.”
Quinnell was arrested by Vancouver Police Department on Sept. 12, 2019, on an unrelated Canada-wide warrant and has been held in custody since then.
