Armed robbery charges

By Sarah Schwager
A CRANBOURNE man has been charged with six armed robberies in Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Dandenong and Pakenham. The man was arrested last Thursday after Frankston police Embona Taskforce detectives, with help from Cranbourne police, executed a search warrant at a Cranbourne house.
The arrest was the result of Operation Scanty which was set up to catch the culprit of the armed robberies.
The most recent robbery occurred in Cranbourne last Wednesday, 2 August at the Safeway Liquor store on the corner of Thompsons Road and the South Gippsland Highway.
Police said a man entered the store, selected alcohol from the shelf and took it up to the female shop assistant.
Police said he then produced a knife and demanded cash, then fled. The arrested man has also been charged with armed robberies at a Cranbourne service station on 6 July, Safeway Liquor in Pakenham on 7 July, two Narre Warren bottle shops on 27 July and 30 July and a smoke shop in Dandenong on 30 July.
The 29-year-old man appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last Friday charged with six armed robberies and minor drug offences.
He was remanded in custody to appear before the same court on 26 October for a committal mention.