A man wanted by police in Western Canada was arrested in Ottawa Sunday morning after a west-end convenience store was robbed yet again.
A male suspect, armed with a knife, entered Food Frenz at 2910 Carling Ave. shortly after 3 a.m. He stole money from the till and fled on foot.
Police pursued the man through Michele Heights Park to Michele Drive, where he was arrested. Officers recovered the stolen money and knife.
The man had an outstanding Canada-wide arrest warrant for a series of Calgary robberies, said Sgt. Don Sweet of the Ottawa police.
He remains in custody and will be formally charged Monday morning.
Endashaw Gebremariam, who has worked at Food Frenz for four years, is scared every time he works an overnight shift.
"When someone comes just to get something, you worry very much," he told CTV Ottawa.
Another employee has already quit. Owner Alice Jardon can rarely sleep through the night and is constantly expecting calls from police.
This was the sixth robbery reported at Food Frenz in the past five weeks. The store has recently been equipped with new surveillance cameras and a secure electronic door to help beef up its security.
Police have also been paying more attention to the store, which helped nab the suspect in quick fashion.
"We've certainly seen an increase in the last couple of months in armed robberies, so I think our goal now is to, as we have for the last few months, target some of those locations where we see increases in armed robberies as well advance some warnings to the community to be aware and more safe," said Ottawa Police Chief Vern White.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kristy Kirkup
