Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
A Keeseekoowenin couple remains in custody as both are accused of helping a robber get away after a gunpoint gaming centre heist.
Details of the crime emerged for the first time during a recent bail hearing in Brandon court.
Outlining the allegations, Crown attorney Ron Toews said that a disguised man entered the Keeseekoowenin First Nation gaming centre on Jan. 24.
Armed with a long gun of some kind, he ordered patrons to keep playing their VLTs, pointed the gun at the attendant and demanded money and cigarettes.
The attendant handed over cash and smokes and the robber fled.
It’s alleged that the robber then headed to the home of his aunt and her husband.
The couple was in bed and awoke when the suspect tossed the bag that held the money and cigarettes at their feet.
The robber told them what he’d done and the money was counted and totalled about $3,000 to $3,500. There was about 30 packs of cigarettes.
The gunman then gave the couple $700 hush money. He also paid off a drug debt, gave $100 to his mom to buy food and toys for “the kids,” and handed his aunt and her spouse several packs of cigarettes, Toews said.
The next day, his aunt dropped her nephew off at the Brandon bus station and he travelled to Alberta.
It’s alleged that the aunt later lied to investigators when she initially told them that she’d dropped her nephew off at the bus station three days before the robbery and hadn’t seen him since.
She also allegedly gave police an inaccurate description of her nephew.
The couple had already helped the suspect hide the gun which still hasn’t been found, Toews said.
The aunt’s husband helped hide the gun even though he was banned from having firearms at the time, Toews added.
The aunt’s husband is also accused of trying to mislead police by driving his snowmobile over the footprints that the suspect left between the gaming centre and the couple’s home.
The above allegations haven’t been proven in court.
As for the robbery suspect, Toews said he travelled to Edmonton where he allegedly committed another robbery and is now in custody in Alberta.
Toews said he’s trying to have the suspect transferred to Manitoba to answer to the robbery at Keeseekoowenin.
Meanwhile, the suspect’s aunt and her husband are both charged with robbery as accessories after the fact.
Each is also charged with possession of a weapon while prohibited and possession of property obtained by crime.
The aunt also faces mischief charges for allegedly making false statements.
Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta has denied bail for Kenneth Bradley Pearce, 36. His next court date is Feb. 26.
Janelle Leslie-Marie Pearce, 31, also remains in custody with a Feb. 25 court date.
» ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition February 19, 2013
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A Keeseekoowenin couple remains in custody as both are accused of helping a robber get away after a gunpoint gaming centre heist.
Details of the crime emerged for the first time during a recent bail hearing in Brandon court.
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A Keeseekoowenin couple remains in custody as both are accused of helping a robber get away after a gunpoint gaming centre heist.
Details of the crime emerged for the first time during a recent bail hearing in Brandon court.
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