Suspects charged in Pembina Highway jewelry store armed robbery

WINNIPEG – Winnipeg police have arrested three people in connection with an afternoon jewelry-story heist on Tuesday.

A shotgun-wielding man went into Winnipeg Jewellers on Pembina Highway at about 4:30 p.m. and demanded the clerk hand over the merchandise, police said in a news release Thursday. He then smashed the display case and grabbed a large quantity of jewelry.

The clerk physically tried to stop the man, then remotely locked the door to the store, Const. Jason Michalyshen said.

“Our suspect did sustain an injury,” Michalyshen said. While police don’t encourage members of the public to confront criminals, victims of crime do have a right to defend themselves, he added.

At that point, the robber started to ransack the store, so the clerk decided to unlock the door and let the man go.

“That was the right decision,” Michalyshen said.

The clerk, who was cleaning up the shop Thursday, said it was the second time he’d been robbed – the last time was 22 years ago. He asked that inquiries about the robbery be addressed to police.

The robber fled in a Ford Edge in which two accomplices were waiting, police allege.

The Winnipeg Police Service major crimes unit, the tactical support team, the street crime unit and the canine unit investigated and police found the Ford Edge driving near Provencher Boulevard and Tache Avenue at about 10:10 p.m. The two people inside were arrested, and a third person was arrested a short time later at a Doucet Street home.

Robert Sauer, 24, is accused of being the man who entered the store. He’s charged with:

• armed robbery using a firearm;
• wearing a disguise with the intent to commit a crime;
• using a firearm during the commission of an indictable offence;
• careless use of a firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition;
• possession of a weapon;
• carrying a concealed weapon, prohibited device or ammunition;
• unauthorized possession of a firearm;
• possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition; and
• possession of a firearm, prohibited or restricted weapon obtained by crime.

Madeline Wight, 22, was arrested with him and charged with armed robbery using a firearm.

John Stengel, 29, who was arrested on Doucet, is charged with:

• armed robbery using a firearm;
• using a firearm during the commission of an indictable offence;
• careless use of a firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition;
• possession of a weapon;
• carrying a concealed weapon, prohibited device or ammunition;
• possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized;
• possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition;
• possession of a firearm, prohibited or restricted weapon obtained by crime; and
• four counts of possessing a firearm contrary to a prohibition order.

All three are being held in custody.