Seniors sought in small-town crime spree
RCMP in Redcliff as well as other provinces are on the lookout for two elderly bandits that might be best dubbed as ‘Barney and Clyde.’
The Medicine Hat News has learned that authorities believe the two older men seek out small-town grocery outlets or shops, then pilfer back offices of cash while the staff is occupied.
On Wednesday night, AG Foods in Redcliff, near Medicine Hat, reported that the men entered the store where one acted as a lookout while the other broke into a back office.
That’s similar to robberies of an AG Foods in Saskatchewan from the summer, as well as a candy shop in Jasper last weekend, where $1,200 was stolen.
“It’s the same guys,” said Ana Lea Berenguer, the owner of Ana Lea’s Candy Lane in Jasper, who has seen the recent security camera footage in media reports. “I’m really hoping they are caught, because you really feel violated. This is a small business that’s like my home.”
Berenguer says another business owner in Jasper has contacted her saying the duo hit that store last summer.
Redcliff RCMP Cpl. Shane Ryan tells the News that local investigators have been in contact with a number of other police and RCMP detachments.
“We are aware of the (other) reports, and are following a number of leads,” said Ryan. “If they had been local, we think someone would have called us pretty quick knowing who they were.”
A similar crime occurred in late August in Outlook, Sask., south of Saskatoon, where, again, two men of the same description took money from an AG Foods under similar circumstances.
“We had to close the case,” Cst. Kyle Vye, of the Outlook detachment, noting yet another case at the same time period reported at a nearby Co-op grocery outlet.
“It’s the same MO where they basically come in and take cash,” said Vye. “We have them on camera but have no idea who they are."
The file was eventually sent to a crime analysis department in that province, said Vye, where it was linked to similar robberies across Canada.
A comparison of security footage from Outlook and Redcliff, which were released to the media, shows a remarkable resemblance of one man suspected in both crimes.
The culprits are only described as older white males who wore dark clothing during the grocery store thefts.
Anyone with information should contact the Redcliff RCMP at 403-5482288 or Crimestoppers 1-800-222-8477.