In Vino Veritas — ‘in wine there is truth’ The Latin saying has never rung truer after a homeless Fort McMurray man is alleging he was coerced to help rob half a dozen liquor stores in Canada’s oil capital earlier this summer.Tall tales are often fulled by taller drinks, and in June, Wood Buffalo RCMP charged Jonathan Mercredi with robbery for his part in a string of armed shakedowns of Ace Liquor outlets that occurred in May and June.The 39-year old homeless man, who is struggling with addictions, was charged along with four other Ace employees — including a manager — with multiple robbery and extortion charges.Police patrolling the neighbourhood witnessed him leaving a white Taos SUV on June 1 while wearing a mask and carrying an axe into a liquor store on Real Martin Drive which was later reported to have been robbed..No one was injured and the vehicle was later found abandoned.Mercredi was arrested two days later when officers patrolling downtown saw him enter a white Chrysler 200 that had been reported stolen in May.That’s when the case took a strange turn when he alleged the robberies were organized by an Ace employee who recruited him the local homeless shelter to take part by promising to rent an AirBnB for himself and his pregnant girlfriend who is also struggling with addictions.He alleged they threatened to slit his throat if he did not cooperate.To top it off, Mercredi said at a bail hearing one of the men had given him the Chrysler and promised to complete a bill of sale at a later date.Based on that information, on August 15 police charged: Jasmeet Singh, 21; Guraman Singh, 19; Harshdeep Singh, 21; and Daksh Jain, 22 with multiple robbery and extortion charges. Jasmeet and Guraman were released from custody. Harshdeep and Daksh are on the lam have yet to be located by police..Mercredi was charged with robbery, wearing a disguise with intent, and possession of a weapon with intent to commit a crime. He appeared in court and was subsequently denied bail unlike the though the other two co-horts.That’s even though “Mercredi was adamant he had no plan on ever hurting anyone or using the weapon in any way as the robbery was premeditated by the accused parties,” an officer wrote in the bail disclosure.In February, Fort Mac cops said they had been buckling under a blitz of liquor store thefts and robberies by responding to more than 350 separate calls since last September.
