St. Albert seller hit by SUV after Kijiji sale gone wrong

Police say this man stole a Rolex, pepper sprayed one person, and hit another with his vehicle during a Kijiji sale gone bad. (Suppled: RCMP)

Police are looking for a man who stole a Rolex watch and hit one of the sellers with his vehicle during a Kijiji sale gone wrong earlier this month.

On July 14, two people selling the watch met a potential buyer at 3 p.m. in the foyer of the TD Bank on Inglewood Drive in St. Albert.

The buyer asked to see the watch. While he was looking at it, he ran out of the bank without returning it.

The sellers chased after him, but the thief pulled a can of bear spray out of his bag and sprayed it into the face of one of the victims.

The person who was sprayed with bear spray fell down on the grass, while the other seller chased the robber towards the St. Albert Bowling Alley.

The thief got into a 2010-2012 steel blue metallic Ford Escape in the bowling alley parking lot and drove out the north entrance of the lot, hitting the victim who was still chasing after him.

Police are looking for this Ford Escape in connection with a robbery in St. Albert. (Supplied: RCMP)

The driver did not stop, and kept going southbound on Inglewood Drive.

The seller hit by the vehicle was taken to hospital by ambulance for precautionary measures and later released. The seller who was bear sprayed received first aid on scene.

The thief is described as about 6’ tall, 170 pounds, lanky build with short dark hair, possibly Asian or Indigenous. He had a COVID-19 mask on, a black shirt, black pants, and a black cross-strap satchel. He also had a tattoo on his right hand or arm.

Police have recovered the Rolex, but the robber is still on the run. Anyone who has information about him is asked to call St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Anyone selling items through an online forum in St. Albert is encouraged to use the Safe Internet Exchange Zone in the parking lot at Servus Place.

There are two marked parking stalls which are continuously under video surveillance.

Users are encouraged to visit during daytime hours.