Two charged, two at large after armed southeast Edmonton jewelry store robbery

Two charged, two at large after armed southeast Edmonton jewelry store robbery

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Share this Story: Two charged, two at large after armed southeast Edmonton jewelry store robbery

Two charged, two at large after armed southeast Edmonton jewelry store robbery Photo by supplied / Edmonton Police Service

Article content Edmonton police have charged two men and are searching for two others after an armed robbery at a southeast Edmonton jewelry store last week.

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content On Feb. 23, three suspects wearing gloves and medical masks entered the store just before closing at 5:30 p.m. at the Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre near 83 Street and 82 Avenue, police said in a Thursday morning news release. We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Two charged, two at large after armed southeast Edmonton jewelry store robbery Back to video It was reported to police that one of the suspects pointed a firearm at the store employee while the others smashed display cases with a sledgehammer and a firearm. The suspects carried blue bins with them and loaded an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 worth of jewelry into the boxes, police said. “They then run out in very short order. They commit the robbery and are back outside in under two minutes,” said Det. David Green with the EPS robbery section. “It’s very brazen, there was a very good possibility that this could have been a significantly worse event.”

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content The suspects fled the store on foot and hopped into a stolen vehicle in the parking lot, which was then driven to a nearby residential neighbourhood, abandoned and lit on fire. They then fled the area in another vehicle driven by a fourth suspect, police said. “Fortunately some neighbours saw the fire and came out and doused it with a couple of fire extinguishers so thankfully this didn’t turn significantly worse and burn down some houses,” Green said. Upon investigation of the second vehicle, police executed search warrants at several suites in an apartment building near 117 Avenue and Groat Road where they located evidence used during the robbery including the firearm, sledgehammer and approximately $6,000 in jewelry. Police said they also seized two additional firearms.

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content Sylvain Foster, 60, of Edmonton, is charged with two counts of robbery with a firearm and eight other various firearm-related offences. Dustin Logan, 34, of Edmonton, is charged with two counts of robbery with a firearm, disguise with intent, arson and failure to comply with a probation order. Police released surveillance video Thursday and Green said “the reason this was sent out is we don’t have everyone identified and there’s also a significant amount of property that’s still outstanding.” Green added they don’t believe that this is involved with any other cases that have happened in the city. Anyone with information is asked to call Edmonton police. — with files from Nathan Martin trobb@postmedia.com

Share this article in your social network

Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Edmonton Journal Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Edmonton Journal Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

‘Somebody’s got it’: Customers out hundreds of dollars after jewelry shop closes

EDMONTON – At least eight customers of an Edmonton jewelry store and repair shop are without their jewelry — some worth thousands of dollars — after the store closed.

Linda Rodd-Kitchen dropped off her $2,500 ring at Heart to Heart Jewellery on 118 Avenue in late October for repairs. She had been doing business with David Dorash, who had made her precious ring, for two decades.

“It was little pieces of gold from my grandmother’s ring, my mother’s ring, that was melted down,” Rodd-Kitchen said.

Dorash had been in and out of hospital recently. When Rodd-Kitchen called to arrange to pick her ring up at his shop, an unfamiliar woman answered.

“And said Dave had passed away. And they were going to have to break into the safe,” Rodd-Kitchen said.

She called again the next day.

“And I said I was wondering whether I could come and pick up my ring and he goes, ‘Well do you have a slip?’ And I go, ‘No we never had a slip with Dave.'” Instead, customers said Dorash would place the jewelry in a small brown envelope and write customer’s name and number on it.

“We never questioned it,” Rodd Kitchen said. “I had never had a problem. Ever.”

Hours later, Rodd-Kitchen discovered the shop was empty with a note directing customers to contact the jeweller’s family.

Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said 15 people reported missing jewelry. EPS investigated but no charges were laid.

“I believe police returned jewellery [sic] to three complainants and family also made effort to return jewellery to complainants as well,” Voordenhout said. “Unfortunately the record keeping on the part of the store wasn’t there. So it’s very difficult for investigators to know what was in the store at any given time.”

CTV News Edmonton has spoken with seven additional customers who say they haven’t been able to recover their jewelry either. Christina Miketic-Ketsa said she is now without a $500-necklace and her wedding ring, appraised at $8,500, but managed to recover $4,000 through insurance.

CTV News also reached out to Dorash’s brother, Ernie, who said via text, “Not one piece was taken by any family member.

“When the safe was opened it was empty,” Dorash added.

Customers are still puzzled to what happened. Police said a break-in and robbery was reported at Heart to Heart Jewellery on Aug. 7 for a robbery on July 30. No arrests were made and some jewellery was reportedly stolen. CTV News has also learned Dorash was diagnosed with dementia.

“It’s out there somewhere,” Rodd-Kitchen said. “Somebody’s got it.”

Rodd-Kitchen is now considering legal action against Dorash’s estate.

Two stores to close in St. Albert Centre

Jillian Creech, St. Albert Centre mall manager, said she could not speak to the closure of the two stores or future plans. However, the mall had seen a two-per-cent growth in sales over the last year since new retailers have moved into the renovated space.

Peoples Jewellers was one of the first businesses to open at the mall 40 years ago. BRITTANY GERVAIS/St. Albert Gazette

1 / 1 Peoples Jewellers was one of the first businesses to open at the mall 40 years ago. BRITTANY GERVAIS/St. Albert Gazette

Two stores, Peoples Jewellers and Stokes, are closing at the St. Albert Centre mall.

Last week, a salesperson at Peoples Jewellers said they found out the store would be closing to customers on March 24. Signs hanging in the window advertised a 20- to 50-per-cent off sale.

The jewelry store was one of the first businesses to open at the mall 40 years ago.

“We don’t know why yet, (head office) technically doesn’t tell us any details,” said Suzanne Martel, who had worked at the store for the past four years. “We have no clue what is going on.”

Peoples Jewellers is the largest retailer of fine jewellery in Canada, with nearly 150 locations from the Maritimes to British Columbia.

Martel estimated around eight other people are working at the St. Albert location.

“Well for myself and one of my other coworkers, who has been here for 22 years, we are older women. It’s going to be hard to find another job,” she said.

Another coworker, who asked to remain anonymous, said their store sees a lot of senior customers who will now have to travel to the Kingsway Mall in Edmonton for the next closest Peoples location.

Employees at the St. Albert Stokes location said a closing date hadn’t been confirmed yet, and declined to comment on the store’s closure. ‘Store closing’ signs hang in the windows, along with signs advertising a 10- to 50-per-cent off sale.

Last month, the kitchenware and home decor retailer announced it will be “reducing its retail footprint in Canada” and streamlining its head office operations in Montreal. The Stokes Retail Group has over 150 locations across the country.

“After many years of solid financial performance, Stokes, like most other retailers, is adapting to fundamental changes in the industry, including how customers shop,” the company stated in a press release.

“The company will continue investing in its online business which has experienced material growth over the last few years.”

Stokes noted it will be closing its less profitable stores, but will maintain a majority of retail locations across Canada. The Stokes store had opened with the redevelopment of the new wing of St. Albert Centre in 2017, after Target vacated the 117,000-square-foot space in 2015.

Jillian Creech, St. Albert Centre mall manager, said she could not speak to the closure of the two stores or future plans. However, the mall had seen a two-per-cent growth in sales over the last year since new retailers have moved into the renovated space.

The closure of Peoples Jewellers and Stokes follows the shutdown of three other businesses in the mall in recent months.

Carlton Cards announced its closure in late January after parent company, Schurman Retail Group, announced the closure of all its retail stores in North America.

The local Things Engraved store shut its doors in early January immediately after the company announced the closure of all its storefronts in Canada, citing an inability to compete with online retailers.

Montreal-based Bentley Leathers also closed its St. Albert location in December after the retailer announced it would be shedding its underperforming stores.