WHITEWATER REGION (Beachburg) — A masked person entered the pharmacy in Beachburg, brandished an edged weapon to an employee and demanded drugs. The employee was not injured and the person fled the scene in a stolen vehicle with a quantity of prescription drugs.
The vehicle used by the perpetrator to flee the scene had been reported stolen from a residence on Mountainview Dr. in Laurentian Valley Township on Friday, March 27. The robbery took place on Saturday, March 28 at approximately 10:30 a.m. and members of the Upper Ottawa Valley, Renfrew and Killaloe Detachments of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded.
Officers in the area encountered the suspect and stolen vehicle on Hennessy Trail. The suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Responding officers, along with the OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT) and the Canine Unit, were unable to locate the male initially. Later that evening at approximately 7:30 p.m., officers arrested a person in connection with this incident on Rapid Rd. after a brief foot chase.
As a result of this investigation Joel David Visutskie, a 34 year old Pembroke area resident, has been charged with the following Criminal Code (CC) offences: Robbery with a weapon; Disguise with intent; Flight from peace officer; two counts of Possession of a schedule I substance, opioid; Possession of property obtained by crime under $5000; and two counts of Failure to comply with release order. The accused was also charged with several property related CC offences in relation to recent thefts from vehicles and possession/use of stolen credit cards in the area.
The accused has been remanded into custody until a video appearance at the Ontario Court of Justice in Pembroke on Tuesday, April 14.
