POLICE SUSPECT COCAINE USERS TRYING TO FEED THEIR HABITS

The recent wave of convenience store and gas station robberies might be
traced to cocaine users trying to feed pricey drug habits.

That's one motive Lethbridge police are considering in the wake of the
city's 12th and 13th commercial robberies of the year Tuesday. A lone man
claiming to have a gun tried to hold up a northside gas bar just before 10
p.m., only hours after two men robbed a southside confectionery at knifepoint.

"There's a correlation between crime and drug abuse and trafficking. That's
one of the avenues we would have to explore in relation to these commercial
robberies," says Sgt. Jamie Fisher.

Often these types of crimes are driven by illicit drug use, by people
trying to feed drug habits, he says.

Dexter Jonathan Lee, 18, and an unnamed 15-year-old boy are accused in the
armed robbery Tuesday afternoon at Frank's Deli and Confectionery in the
3900 block of Forestry Avenue South. They are each charged with robbery and
possession of a dangerous weapon. The younger teen is also charged with
wearing a disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence.

A police dog found a discarded mask believed to have been used in the robbery.

Police are still seeking the man who fled empty-handed later that night
after trying to get into the till at Gonzo's Gas 'N Go in the 900 block of
9 Avenue North. He entered the store just before 10 p.m., told the female
clerk he had a gun and demanded money. No gun was produced.

He left the store as the clerk was calling police and was last seen running
west on 9 Avenue North.

The suspect is a slim white man who stands about five-foot-eight, weighs
about 150 pounds and has stained teeth. He was unshaven with longer, dark
blonde hair and wore a green pullover and jeans.

In each of the previous two years, there were eight commercial robberies in
Lethbridge. Police intelli-gence and several significant drug busts this
year suggest cocaine trafficking is on the increase in the city.