A Calgary man was arrested in relation to several robberies in Alberta and Ontario between October and April, including one at Sandul’s Pharmacy in Black Diamond.
The arrest was the result of an inter-provincial investigation between RCMP and police in Alberta and Ontario.
“It’s not common for an individual to be active in two different provinces like that and certainly a large number of robberies that he’s responsible for is also uncommon,” said Cpl. Curtis Peters with RCMP Alberta Media Relations. “We really benefited by the cooperation and support from Ontario. They had already advanced their investigation quite a bit and were able to point us in the direction of Mr. Robinson.”
On March 20, RCMP allege robberies occurred at the Crossfield Pharmacy in Crossfield and the Sandstone Pharmacy in Airdrie. Ten days later in Black Diamond, a man entered Sandul’s Pharmacy in the late afternoon through the back door and pulled a knife on the staff. He gained access to the safe and removed various narcotic drugs before fleeing out the back door.
A fourth robbery occurred at a pharmacy in Bragg Creek on April 5.
According to an RCMP press release, a man armed with a knife stole prescription medication, including opiates, in each of the robberies.
As the RCMP Serious Crimes Branch was investigating the Alberta robberies, Ontario Provincial Police in Essex County were investigating 14 robberies that had occurred in several jurisdictions from October 2016 to March.
“We are really thankful for the cooperation of the different agencies to get this done quickly and successfully,” Peters said.
He said the RCMP traced the suspect to his home and workplace through posts he made online.
Search warrants were executed April 13 and 14 at a Calgary residence and vehicle, as well as a work site near Fort McMurray. Evidence gathered included clothing and items used by the suspect and an abundance of prescription narcotics.
“There was a pretty substantial amount of narcotics for one individual to have,” said Peters.
Peters said the items recovered matched those taken during the Alberta robberies. Items stolen during the Ontario robberies were not recovered.
Dustin Ross Robinson, 34, was charged with four counts of robbery and four counts of disguise with intent relating to four armed robberies in the Alberta pharmacies.
In addition to the Alberta charges, Robinson is facing 24 criminal code charges in Ontario stemming from the armed robbery investigations there.
“He was a suspect but had not yet been charged in Ontario,” said Peters.
Robinson, formally of Sarnia, Ontario, has been remanded into custody and appeared in Airdrie Provincial Court today.
