In the course of two robberies and a gas and dash this week that Red Deer RCMP believe are connected, armed and masked suspects have assaulted a female store clerk, fled police, and driven the wrong way down Gaetz Avenue in a stolen truck.
Red Deer RCMP believe the two robberies were committed by a trio including two men and a woman.
Shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, RCMP responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Express 24 Foodmart on Erickson Drive. Two masked men had entered the store carrying long guns and demanded cash and cigarettes. They then fled in a waiting truck driven by a third person.
Police located the suspect vehicle, a white 2004 Ford F150 with a black tonneau cover, as it fled westbound on 32nd Street. The driver refused to stop for police and sped through the Westpark neighbourhood before returning to Gaetz Avenue and driving north in the southbound lanes. Due to the risk to public safety, police did not pursue the truck at that point.
The truck had been reported stolen from Blackfalds on April 12, and had a licence plate stolen in a separate incident. It had been caught on camera during a gas and dash at 11:45 a.m. on Monday at a business on Gasoline Alley. The driver was a woman.
Later on Tuesday, at 11:45 p.m , RCMP responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Mac’s Convenience Store on Jewell Street. A masked man carrying a handgun and a masked woman carrying a long gun entered the store and demanded cash and cigarettes. During the robbery, the female suspect assaulted the female staff member, who was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
RCMP and Police Dog Services tracked the suspects down an alley where police believe they entered a waiting vehicle.
In the Express 24 robbery, one male suspect is described as approximately 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, wearing black pants with white lettering on the thigh, a black hoodie, clown mask and yellow work gloves.
The other male is approximately 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) tall, wearing blue jeans, a black jacket with “CROOKS” in white lettering, a black baseball hat with “Murder” in white lettering and gloves.
In the gas and dash, the third suspect is described as a Caucasian female wearing grey sweatpants, a black hooded jacket, a pink hoodie, a ball cap and tan work boots.
In the Mac’s robbery, the woman suspect was wearing black sweatpants with white lettering on the leg, a black Under Armour hoodie, light ball cap, black Converse-style sneakers, gloves, and a dark bandana over her face. The man was wearing black pants, a black hoodie, a skeleton face mask and gloves.
Anyone with information about the identities of these suspects or other related information is asked to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com. If the information leads to an arrest, there is an eligible for a cash reward up to $2,000.