Edmonton police lay 60 charges against duo in string of cannabis shop robberies
More than 60 charges have been laid against two men in connection with a string of armed robberies involving Edmonton cannabis retailers, police said in a Wednesday news release.
The four incidents took place between Dec. 1 and Jan. 6 at cannabis retailers in different areas of the city: 69th Street and 76th Avenue, 101st Avenue and 175th Street, Mark Messier Trail and Mistatim Way, and 97th Street and 39th Avenue.
Each incident involved two men — one of whom was linked to all four robberies — who threatened staff with a weapon and, in some cases, assaulted them. Cash, cannabis and related products were taken.
Police said charges have been laid against the primary suspect in the four robberies as well as one of the two accomplices. One other accomplice is still being sought.
Earlier this week, three Edmonton liquor stores had new identification scanning systems installed in a bid to deter violent robberies.
Alcanna, owner of the three stores testing the Patronscan devices, is Canada's largest private retailer of liquor stores. It also owns the Nova Cannabis retailers, of which there are about dozen in the metro Edmonton area.
