Man accused of robbing Circle K convenience store on trial in Yellowknife

The trial of a 29-year-old man accused of robbing a Yellowknife convenience store with a knife began Thursday.

Devon Larabie is charged with robbery and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose for an incident at the Circle K convenience store and gas station on March 17, 2020.

A little less than two months later, Larabie was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of  22-year-old Breanna Menacho in Yellowknife while he was out on bail. He is currently in custody at the North Slave Correctional Centre awaiting trial on that charge.

Surveillance footage

Crown prosecutor Brendan Green presented four different surveillance footage clips from the Circle K that show the robbery from different angles. The footage, obtained by the RCMP, doesn't contain any audio. 

The footage shows a man walking into the store wearing a black face covering and a black baseball cap with orange writing on it. The man initially goes to the checkout area but there is no one there. He then walks around the store until the clerk comes out from the back. 

The clerk and the man speak to each other and the clerk then goes behind the counter and grabs some cigarettes and begins to ring them up.

A woman in a pink jacket is then seen in the footage walking toward the bathroom area. She turns and looks at the man at the counter and then turns around and walks out the front door.

The man then says something to the clerk and pulls out what appears to be a knife and puts his hand on the counter. The clerk immediately jumps back. 

The two argue for around a minute and then the man grabs the cigarettes from the clerk's hand and begins to walk around the counter. The clerk then says something and the man returns to where he was. The clerk opens the cash register and hands a pile of cash to the man who then walks out. 

'He robbed them with a steak knife'

The Crown called four witnesses, including Larabie's former co-accused Maiya Klengenberg.

The 20-year-old failed to show up to testify, and police had to find her and escort her to court Thursday morning.

She told the court that she was the woman wearing the pink jacket in the surveillance video. She left the store before the robbery, but she identified the man robbing the store as Larabie.

Klengenberg said she was staying at Larabie's apartment at Lanky Court the night the robbery took place. She said the two were drinking with another man and Larabie told her he wanted to go to the convenience store, located just behind his apartment, to "get some smokes and some money."

After the robbery, Klengenberg said she and Larabie returned to his apartment and he told her "he robbed them with a steak knife or some kind of knife." 

Three RCMP officers also testified that a long black kitchen knife, a black neck warmer and two packs of opened cigarettes were seized from Larabie's apartment during a search later that day.

Both Klengenberg and Larabie were found at the apartment and arrested. Charges against Klengenberg were later stayed.

During cross examination, defence lawyer Scott Cowan asked Klengenberg about what she did before the robbery took place. He asked her about the other man she was with that night. Klengenberg identified him as "Rick" but said she couldn't remember his last name.

Cowan asked if the man in the surveillance video was in fact Rick, not Larabie. Klengenberg maintained it was Larabie. Cowan told Klengenberg that she only went to Larabie's apartment after the robbery took place. He said she even threw rocks at his window for him to let her in. Klengenberg initially agreed with Cowan but later said that had happened earlier in the night, before the robbery.

Clerk not testifying

When the Crown finished calling all four of its witnesses, Justice Donovan Molloy asked why the convenience store clerk who had been robbed was not testifying.

Green told the court that the clerk had moved to Edmonton and was no longer returning his calls.

Molloy asked why the clerk was not issued a subpoena which would legally compel him to testify. Green told the court it was ultimately a decision he had to make, and he decided the case had enough evidence without the clerk's testimony.

The trial continues Friday.