Thieves attempt to rob second pharmacy in Tofield

It hasn’t been a good week for Tofield pharmacy owners Darren and Gaylene Erickson (originally of Killam).

Exactly a week after their Guardian Drugs store in Tofield was robbed by using a truck to break through the store front, an attempt has been made on the their second pharmacy at the south end of main street.

The Ericksons suspected an attempt might be made on their other store, Tofield PharmaChoice (often called Tofield IDA by local residents). But they didn’t expect it would happen so soon and believe the same suspects may be involved.

“Of course, we’re totally shocked,” said Gaylene. “We thought we would have a couple of weeks grace here.”

After all, they thought, it would take time for the four thieves from the Guardian robbery to sell the drugs they stole, then go through the money, before possibly attempting another theft at the second store.

“We didn’t expect it to be hit quite this soon,” she said. This time, thieves were in the back of the PharmaChoice building cutting the telephone lines, which automatically set off the security alarm.

They were gone before the police arrived and did not make an attempt to get into the store.

This second incident took place at 10:36 p.m. Sunday night, just seven days after Guardian’s safe was stolen.

“They’re getting a little aggressive,” she said, if these are the same robbers, for coming back to town so soon.

“I suspect so, but we honestly don’t know,” she said. “The good thing is that they didn’t get in.”

RCMP Cpl. John Powell said the police attended the scene after the alarm went off, and found the phone lines cut. The thieves “vacated as soon as that happened,” he said, adding there could be a connection between the two robberies.

“Two in the same week tells me it’s likely the same people doing this.”

Last week, the Ericksons offered a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects who hit Guardian Drugs.

Powell said the RCMP already have some leads in the case, although no arrests have been made.

The Ericksons have two store videos that filmed the truck ramming Guardian Drugs the week before, followed by the entrance of the thieves in a 3-minute smash and grab for a safe and drugs.

The videos have been uploaded to the Tofield Mercury and The Community Press websites. Anyone can look at these videos to try and determine who the suspects are based on physical appearance, clothing and behaviour.

DNA and fingerprints from the crime scene may be difficult to find considering the fact all the people involved were covered from head to foot and wore gloves.

At the Aug. 17 robbery the alarm went off at 3 a.m.

“Darren was down there within five minutes,” and saw a vehicle had run through the front window.

The stolen truck used by thieves to bash in the store windows has been identified as belonging to a couple living several blocks away in Tofield.

Video from within the store shows the truck coming past the Bank of Montreal building, turning right onto main street and parking in front of the pharmacy.

Someone comes to the front door and checks the location of the lock by pushing against it. A few seconds later the truck was driven straight into the door smashing out everything around it. Glass was strewn both inside and outside the store.

Three other men were standing outside waiting to run into the store. They went straight for the pharmacy in the back with one carrying a big duffle bag, “which we think was probably carrying tools,” said Gaylene.

Again, cameras reveal that one of them took the safe under the counter. While he was ripping it out, two others were scanning the shelves, presumably for bottles of pills. Then three shelving units came crashing to the floor after being knocked over by the person pulling out the safe.

The safe was carried to the front of the store and put into the truck. Narcotics were in that safe, she said, but added that “people breaking in won’t get any money.”

The entire incident took all of three minutes, “then they were gone,” she said. They later learned the stolen truck was dumped just north of Tofield on Highway 834.

“They had a vehicle waiting at the north edge of town where the truck was dumped,” she said, and the safe was then transferred.

“By 7 a.m. Darren already received a call that they had found the truck,” she said. “By 10 a.m., a man called saying he found a safe on the the side of the road and was it ours?” The safe, located two miles north of Mundare, is being kept for evidence after being turned over to the Vegreville RCMP.

Gaylene believes a paper inside the safe that said Town and Country Guardian Drugs with a phone number was the reason it was returned. “The guy phoned and asked if it was a robbery.

“It was meant to be,” she said. “We have a God who is putting this together.”

She is hoping a description of the three men inside during the robbery will help find the perpetrators.

The person who checked the door before it was rammed is between 5 ft. 8 in. and 5 ft. 10 in. tall and wearing black and white geometric lounge pants (“the kind rappers wear,” she said).

The logo on the suspect’s white Crooks and Castles shirt read “Cocaine and Caviar.” He also wore a geometric black and white de-signed mask.

The second man who came inside was carrying the duffle bag, wearing dark clothing with both a hoodie and a mask. The hat appeared to have a geometric de-sign on the brim.

The third man wore a checkered black and white zip-up hoodie and matching pants, with a white mask. The last two men who came inside the building were also wearing white runners.

“I think all the guys are in Crooks and Castles (clothing line),” said Gaylene. “We’re offering a $5,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people involved.”

Last week, she said: “These guys have got to be spouting off to somebody. It’s a lot of money (to give away) but if we can keep them from do-ing it to the other store, then it’s worth it,” she said, referring to the pharmacy that thieves have now also tried to rob Sunday evening.

Patricia Harcourt
Editor, Tofield Mercury