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On December 11th, 2024, at approximately 4:15am, 3 District (Welland/Fonthill) uniform officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service attended the Petro Canada located at 504 Niagara Street in the City of Welland in regard to a Robbery call.

Investigation revealed that at approximately 4:00am, a male suspect entered the Petro Canada,
pointed a firearm at an employee and demanded money.  The employee grabbed a weapon to defend himself, causing the male to flee on a bicycle.

The male suspect then attended the Esso, located at 709 Niagara Street, in the City of Welland, entered the store, pointed a firearm and again demanded money. The male was able to obtain an undisclosed amount of money then fled the scene on a bicycle.

As a result of the investigation, detectives were able to identify the suspect.  At 4:33am, uniform officers located the suspect matching the description in the area of Division Street and West Main Street, in the City of Welland, where he was placed under arrest.  Search incident to arrest led officers to recover the stolen money and a pellet gun.

Justin BYFORD (21 Years Old) of Welland was arrested and charged with the following offences:

  • Robbery with firearm(2 Counts)

BYFORD was held in custody pending a bail hearing that is expected to take place on December 11, 2024 at the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse located at 59 Church Street in the City of St. Catharines.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 905-688-4111, option 3, ext. 1009487.

Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-8477.  Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information which leads to an arrest.

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