Two arrested

Police have arrested two men in connection with recent robberies at Mac’s convenience stores.

Darcy Belmore, 25, was taken into custody Wednesday by the Thunder Bay Police Service and charged with three counts of robbery.

“The three he is charged with, he is alleged to have used a weapon, primarily a knife,” said Det. Sgt. Don Lewis. “He made off with a small amount of cash and cigarettes.”

Belmore was remanded in court Thursday morning and now has three counts of disguise with intent added to the initial robbery charges.

Thursday a second man was arrested and held on four counts of robbery and disguise with intent. The 24-year-old man will appear in court Friday morning.

There have been four Mac’s robberies since Oct. 6 and since Jan. 1, there have been 22 in the city.

Lewis said the majority has occurred in the city’s south side and the location most commonly hit is the Mac’s on the corner of May and Dease Streets.

He added the reason Mac’s may be a popular target is because they don’t use the same security measures as other convenience stores and gas outlets in the city.

“They are also in different locations,” he said. “The one at May and Dease seems to be a popular target for criminals throughout the past year, but there have been a number of other ones that have been hit.”

Thunder Bay police are meeting with members of Mac’s loss prevention team next week to discuss preventative measures that can be put in place to stop the frequency of the robberies.