A 21-year-old Victoria man was taken into custody Thursday after an early morning attempt to rob the Mac's Convenience Store at Cook Street and Pandora Avenue.
Around 4:30 a.m. the on-duty clerk was cleaning the store and noticed a lone man enter the store. Noting that the man was holding a knife, the clerk tried to persuade the man to leave, but the latter demanded that the employee clean out the till. The clerk, aware the would-be thief could not open the till or the store's safe on his own, instead fled the store and raised the alarm.
The suspect had left the scene by the time Victoria police arrived, but the officers reviewed the surveillance video. With a good description of the man, police fanned out to search the area and found the suspect a block south of the store. Officers disarmed and arrested him.
Charges of armed robbery were being recommended.
ddescoteau@vicnews.com