Two Lumby men have been arrested in connection with an April 24 robbery at the village’s Mac’s Convenience Store.
A female clerk was held at knife point after a lone man entered the store at 1 a.m.
The man locked the door leading outside and held a knife to the employee, forcing her to sit on the floor behind the till for a period of time.
An undisclosed amount of cash, lottery tickets and cigarettes were stolen.
“As a result of an intensive police investigation, Lumby RCMP have arrested two men in connection to the robbery at Mac’s,” said Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP spokesperson Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy.
Thomas Belanger, 34, is facing charges of robbery, unlawful confinement and uttering threats.
Keegan Reed, 21, is facing charges of unlawful confinement, robbery, uttering threats, and accessory to an offence.
Both are currently remanded into custody and are scheduled to appear in Vernon Provincial Court Wednesday.
“Lumby RCMP would like to thank the public for their assistance in this investigation,” said Noseworthy.
Anyone with further information regarding this matter is asked to call the Lumby RCMP at (250) 547-6184 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
WorkSafe B.C., meanwhile, found the store to be in contravention of a couple of items under Occupational Health and Safety regulations.
According to the WorkSafe B.C. inspection report, the employer has elected to use a violence prevention program to minimize the risk of robbery or injury to the workers.
A safe in the convenience store did not have a time lock and the worker had access to the contents in the safe at the time of the robbery. This is in contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety regulations.
The employee was under the age of 19 and was permitted to work between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the convenience store.
The employer reported that the worker was provided with a personal emergency transmitter (PET) which is monitored by a security company. However, the worker did not use the device at the time of the robbery.
The store must be in compliance of the orders and demonstrate the compliance by May 18.