Jonathan Mercredi alleges four Ace Liquor store employees forced him to take part in one of five robberies at the Fort McMurray stores between May 4 and June 1.
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Jonathan Mercredi, a 39-year-old homeless man charged with robbing a Fort McMurray liquor store last June, alleges he was threatened to do so by some of the store’s employees who have also been charged.
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His lawyer also claims Wood Buffalo RCMP and the Crown withheld this information Mercredi gave to police on June 3 at his unsuccessful June 5 bail hearing. The bail disclosure for Mercredi does not mention his claims he was pressured to rob the store. Mercredi is awaiting his next court date at the Edmonton Remand Centre.
“Had they provided any of that information, he would have gotten out,” said Brian Vaughan of McMurray Regional Law Office in an interview.
The Crown and RCMP say because this is a legal matter before the courts, they would not be commenting on the matter. However, Crown spokesperson Michelle Davio said in a brief email “the allegations made by Mr. Vaughan are not accurate.”
None of the allegations made by Vaughan, the Crown, Mercredi or Wood Buffalo RCMP have been proven in court.
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Ace Liquor store employees charged with robberies
Wood Buffalo RCMP announced on Aug. 15 that five people had been charged with five robberies of the Ace Liquor stores on Signal Road and Real Martin Drive. The incidents were on May 4, 5, 12, 23 and June 1.
Mercredi was arrested on June 1 at the Ace Liquor on Real Martin Drive. Officers patrolling the neighbourhood saw Mercredi leave a white Volkswagen Taos while wearing a mask and carrying an axe into the store. No one was injured and the vehicle was found empty. Mercredi was released and charged with robbery, disguise with intent and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Police interviewed Mercredi about his alleged role in the robbery on June 3 and July 17. Details of these interviews were included in a July 26 bail disclosure for Jasmeet Singh, 21. Jasmeet worked at Ace Liquor and surrendered to police after Mercredi’s arrest.
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Police charged Jasmeet, Guraman Singh, 19; Harshdeep Singh, 21; and Daksh Jain, 22; with multiple robbery and extortion charges. Jasmeet and Guraman were released from custody. Harshdeep and Daksh have yet to be located by police.
Mercredi was arrested on June 3 when officers patrolling downtown saw him enter Guraman’s white Chrysler 200. The vehicle was reported stolen on May 28. Mercredi told police the four Ace Liquor employees organized the robberies. Vaughan says Mercredi was recruited by the four men near the Centre of Hope.
More allegations were made by Mercredi in a July 17 interview with police that Vaughan had arranged. Mercredi told police the four men promised to rent an AirBnB for himself and his pregnant girlfriend, who is also homeless. Both individuals are struggling with addictions. Mercredi said Guraman gave him the Chrysler 200 and promised to complete the bill of sale in the future.
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If he did not cooperate, Mercredi said he was shown photos of people with their throats cut.
He was driven to the Real Martin Drive store by Guraman, Daksh and Harshdeep on June 1. One of them allegedly called Jasmeet to say they had arrived. Mercredi was told to go inside and wave around the axe, while Jasmeet would help with the robbery.
“Mercredi was adamant he had no plan on ever hurting anyone or using the weapon in any way as the robbery was premeditated by the accused parties,” an officer wrote in the bail disclosure.
Vaughan alleges the interviewing officer pressured Mercredi into confessing to the other robberies. Mercredi insists he was involved only in the June 1 incident.
“You can’t have it both ways. He can’t be a victim and he can’t be in with these boys at the same time,” said Vaughan.
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“What they’re waiting for is they’re trying to get some of the boys to flip on each other or something, and then they don’t need Jonathan Mercredi anymore. They can just say, ‘well, you’re part of it.’”
Other ‘unknown men’ involved in robberies
The bail disclosure also says the four employees were working during the May 4 and 5 robberies. Each time they told police they were threatened by unknown men with knives.
A witness during the May 12 robbery at the Signal Road store told police they saw an unknown man enter a white SUV parked at Westwood High School and drive off. The employee at the time has not been charged.
A different employee during the May 28 robbery on Real Martin Drive said she was asked by the suspect about the store’s tracker money, which is used to track or trace potential thefts. The employee found this odd since the money had been delivered the day before.
The employee, who has also not been charged, was forced to empty the store’s safe and bound with zip ties.
Anyone with information about any missing people or criminal activity is asked to contact Wood Buffalo RCMP at 780-788-4040 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). Tips to Crime Stoppers are always anonymous and can be sent to p3tips.com.
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vmcdermott@postmedia.com
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