An Ontario man working in Bonnyville appeared in court last Tuesday following a robbery at Tellier's Value Drug Mart on Oct. 12, which saw an individual threaten an employee before making away with a supply of what RCMP describe as "prescribed narcotics".
Forty-four-year-old Sean Bradley Gordon, from London, Ontario is charged with one count of robbery and several drug related offences following the incident at the local drug store.
According to an RCMP press release, at approximately 6 p.m, a man entered the store and approached the pharmacy, demanding a supply of prescription narcotics from an employee, claiming nobody would get hurt if the employee complied with his demands. The employee complied and the male left the store without incident. The press release stated that the accused did not produce a weapon, and no injuries or damages to the property were reported.
Police were called to the scene and immediately responded, but the accused was able to evade the approaching members and escaped from the immediate area. RCMP said investigators diligently collected evidence from the scene and within a 24-hour period were able to identify, locate and arrest the suspect.
Bonnyville RCMP Staff Sergeant Luis Gandolfi said he was delighted with how quickly his members were able to solve the case.
"I am very pleased with our response to this event, our members utilized good, sound police work and followed the trail of evidence to the accused," he explained. "We are very happy that no one was injured and that this crime was solved so quickly."
Owner of Tellier's Value Drug Mart Paul Tellier said this was only the second time in ten years his store had experienced a robbery, stating it was a "scary" situation.
"It's always scary for my staff and really scary for anybody whenever someone threatens violence, it puts a lot of fear and apprehension into my employees," Tellier said. "We had a break in here about a year and a half ago, and now there's this incident here, but prior to these we didn't have anything for (the best part of a decade.)"
He added, "Sure, it's concerning that there seems to be more happening now, but robberies in the pharmaceutical industry are far more common now than they were 15 years ago."
Gordon will appear again in court Nov. 19 after having his case sent over at his original hearing.
