Charges have been laid against four adult males and one male youth arrested Tuesday by Halifax RCMP in relation to an armed masked robbery at the Beazley Bowling Alley in Cole Harbour in May.
Police say the five are each charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to kidnap, robbery with a firearm, kidnapping using a firearm and additional charges associated with the offence.
Halifax RCMP first reported that four bandana-clad men – which now could be five – followed a 19-year-old female employee and her friend to Porters Lake after she closed for the night at the alley, just after midnight.
The men then allegedly jumped out of their car and forced the girls to drive back to the bowling alley and turn off the security alarm. The men placed the girls’ heads in bags and held guns to their heads while discussing shooting them, Beazley owner Al Peters told Metro after the incident happened. An undisclosed amount of money was stolen from the alley.
After the robbery, police say the men drove the victims to Montague Gold Mines and left them there in their vehicle.
“We believe all of them partook in kidnapping and abduction,” said Halifax RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Taplin. “It was quite a bit of investigating that put all the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Dennis Downey, 19, of Dartmouth, and Rodan Downey, 31, Coulton Downey, 21, and Narico Downey, 20, all of North Preston, were scheduled to appear Wednesday at Dartmouth provincial court. Taplin said the four men are cousins.
The 17-year-old male, who can’t be identified, was to appear Wednesday in Nova Scotia Provincial Youth Court.
