An alert Vernon jail guard helped in the arrest of two men suspected in five armed robberies in the Okanagan the last week. 29 year old Raymond Joseph Johnson of Vernon and 30 year old Jeremy Brent Janzen from the Lower Mainland were arrested Thursday morning near a home in Vernon's Mission Hill area (3700 block of 24 Ave). Vernon RCMP Inspector Steve McVarnock told a news conference, both men are well known to police. "Both have extensive criminal records, and one has a related record in robberies. "Law enforcement agencies are very happy to see these two individiuals off the street at this time. Given the use of a a firearm is the commission of these offences, they posed a significant risk to public safety." McVarnock says the big break in the investigation came when one of their jail guards recognized Johnson from a surveillance photo. "So he took it upon himself to go through our computer based prisoner photo system and came up with Mr. Johnson's face as someone who had been lodged in our cells four years ago. That was a springboard to where we would focus our investigation. Johnson is charged with using a gun to rob the Penticton and Vernon Scotiabanks, along with the Subway in Fruit Uion Plaza.Janzen is accused of just the two Vernon crimes. Charges connected to a pair of Kelowna robberies are expected as well.
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