ANTIGONISH: A man police charged for stealing money from a store here last month was arrested again earlier this week for trying to rob other businesses.
On June 6, at approximately 7:50 a.m., Antigonish County District RCMP said they responded to a report of a robbery at a gas station on Highway 4 in Antigonish. The RCMP said officers learned that a man entered the gas station, passed a note to an employee telling her to empty the till, but as another customer happened to walk into the gas station, the suspect fled on foot before he could obtain any money.
At approximately 7:55 a.m., RCMP said they responded to a report of another robbery, this time at a restaurant on James Street in Antigonish. They said the same man, who had attempted to rob the gas station, entered the restaurant and demanded that an employee give him all the money the restaurant had, before fleeing on foot. The suspect did not obtain any money in this incident either, they noted.
At approximately 8:10 a.m., police said the suspect was located and arrested by RCMP officers at another restaurant on James Street.
Cpl. Chris Marshall told The Reporter via email that, “the accused suffered minor injuries during the arrest and was treated at a local hospital while in RCMP custody.”
“During the arrest the suspect resisted the officer’s efforts to place him in handcuffs, as a result the suspect was guided to the ground,” the RCMP said in a press release issued today. “Once on the ground, and with assistance from a second officer, the suspect was placed in handcuffs. The suspect was transported to the Antigonish Detachment where he was held in custody.”
Jed Douglas Decoste, 31, of Tracadie, has been charged with two counts of robbery, resisting arrest, and two counts of failure to comply with conditions of a release order, the RCMP confirmed.
On May 17, at approximately 5:30 a.m., police responded to a report of a theft at a convenience store on James Street.
RCMP officers learned that a man entered the convenience store, told the clerk that he wanted the cash in the cash register, which the clerk provided, before fleeing on foot.
Marshall told The Reporter at the time that the incident “was not a robbery,” no one was injured, violence was not threatened, and no weapon was used.
RCMP investigators then learned that the same suspect attempted to break-in to an ATM at the Credit Union on the corner of Main Street and College Street prior to attending the convenience store.
While the ATM was damaged, it was not successfully broken into, police said.
A description of the suspect was provided to investigators, and approximately 10 hours later at 3:15 p.m., he was located by police and taken into custody, where he was transported to the Antigonish detachment and held in cells overnight.
Noting the man was arrested on Main Street in Antigonish near Cairn Park, Marshall said he “was known to police.”
Decoste was charged with mischief over $5,000, theft under $5,000, and failure to comply with conditions of a release order.
Information provided by the Public Prosecution Services stated that Decoste was in Antigonish Provincial Court on May 20 for a bail hearing. They said he was also scheduled to be arraigned on an additional charge of robbery in relation to the incident at the convenience store on James Street.
On Monday, Decoste appeared in Antigonish Provincial Court and was remanded into custody. He returned to Antigonish Provincial Court on June 9 for a show cause hearing which was put over until June 15, and in the meantime, the Nova Scotia Judiciary confirmed he remains in custody.