String of weekend robberies in Winnipeg leads to arrest

After a string of robberies over the weekend in Winnipeg a 34-year-old man has been charged.

A man with his face concealed went into the Shoppers Drug Mart in Osborne Village on Friday afternoon. Police said he was carrying a blunt object and threatened to rob the place, but fled empty-handed.

About 30 minutes later, a man with his face covered entered a grocery store on the 200 block of River Avenue — this time police said he was armed with a knife.

The man went up to an employee and her child and demanded money and merchandise before fleeing, police said.

"What's very concerning about that one is not only did he approach the employee with the knife but this employee had a small child, one that's not even in school yet, and committed this robbery in front of this child," said Jay Murray, with the Winnipeg Police Service.

At around 11:30 p.m. the same day, a man robbed a gas station on the 1300 block of Taylor Avenue.

Through their investigation, police determined that one suspect was likely responsible for all of the robberies.

The string of robberies continued on Saturday at a beer vendor on Keewatin Street. A man with his face covered threatened an employee with a blunt object, police said, but once again he fled without any beer or money.

An officer with the canine unit was responding to the robbery when he spotted the suspect on the 1500 block of Notre Dame Avenue.

The man from Cross Lake, Man., faces nine charges including robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.