A suspect has been arrested, but Windsor police investigators are still trying to locate $50,000 worth of jewellery stolen during one of two daytime robberies at Tecumseh Mall.
On April 4, a suspect wearing a face covering entered a jewellery store inside the mall, used a tool to smash a glass display case, and made off with approximately $50,000 worth of jewellery.
On April 6, a person wearing a similar disguise tried to smash a glass display at a different jewellery store inside the mall but ended up fleeing the scene without any merchandise.
Staff Sergeant Joe Faddoul with the Major Crimes Unit says the first case gave them their best leads on a suspect.
"It was through good police work that patrol officers were able to identify the person responsible for the first one. From there, and with getting surveillance, we were able to say with some degree of certainty that the second one was committed by the same person," he says.
A 36-year-old suspect is facing eight charges, including robbery with violence, two counts of wearing a disguise in the commission of an offence, uttering threats to cause bodily harm, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and breach of probation.
Faddoul says the amount of video surveillance inside and outside the mall, along with video from the public, helped identify a suspect.
"We did get cellphone video from a person, maybe two people, which helped extremely. It helps specifically in identifying the person the second time around. People videoing stuff like that and coming forward with it is the greatest assist to us," he says.
Faddoul says this case was extremely concerning.
"It's concerning for the public as a whole, the complete disregard this person has for who's there, the time of day, and the children that are there. It has a level of urgency for investigators to solve it because we didn't want this to continue," he says.
The investigation into the case remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Windsor Police Major Crimes Unit at 519-255-6700, ext. 4830.
The public can also contact Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 519-258-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.catchcrooks.com.