A trucker taking a break on his way to Fort McMurray unwittingly helped RCMP in Crowsnest Pass to apprehend a suspect in an armed robbery case early Tuesday morning.
Police were called to the Shell Gas Station/Circle K Convenience Store in Blairmore at 1:30 a.m. after a man walked into the business and pointed a firearm, under his clothing, at workers.
The man then fled the store with an undisclosed amount of money.
Don Simonson was parked at the gas station and was asleep at the time of the theft but his dash cam was rolling.
In the video, a man can be seen running from the store.
Simonson was woken up by RCMP at about 3:00 a.m. and offered up the footage to officers.
“There was an armed robbery here and did you see anything? And I said, ‘No’, I was sleeping but you can have my dash cam video, you can have the SD card,” he said.
RCMP reviewed the footage and arrested a 23-year-old man without incident.
“They had a little meeting right beside my truck with three vehicles and actually I went to bed after that and found out in the morning that he had been arrested, they caught him,” said Simonson.
Simonson says he was glad he could help out and that he respects the job RCMP did to apprehend the offender.
“I think a big thumbs up to the RCMP,” he said. “It feels good to part of that, absolutely.
Police say the man was wanted in relation to offences that were committed earlier in the day in Lethbridge and he is facing charges of robbery, theft and breach of his release conditions.
Quinten Anthony Meyer, 23, was transported to Lethbridge to be charged.
No one was injured in the incident.
