A 32-year-old man of no fixed address is facing 13 charges thanks to the close cooperation of four different police detachments.

From September 22 to October 17, a series of more than a dozen similar robberies occurred at fast-food outlets, convenience stores, and banks.

“In Coquitlam, we had four files in rapid succession where the suspect went straight for the cash registers. We quickly realized our files were similar to crimes happening in Langley,” said Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin on Wednesday. “We pooled our resources with Langley RCMP, Burnaby RCMP and New Westminster Police and by October 19 we had identified a suspect and made an arrest.”

Derek John Muirhead is now in custody. On November 8, his charges were upgraded to include the following:

– Five counts of robbery in Burnaby
– Four counts of robbery in Coquitlam,
– Two counts of robbery in New Westminster,
– Two counts of robbery in Langley,
– One count of assault with a weapon in Langley.
The investigation into Muirhead is not over and more charges are possible, police said.

“We’re looking for patterns all the time,” said McLaughlin. “And we’re constantly working with other local RCMP and municipal police departments to find those crime patterns. We’re all on the same team.”

Muirhead’s next court appearance is in Surrey on November 15.