Shoppers Tackle Suspects After Bear Spray Smash-and-Grab at Oshawa Jewellery Store

Four masked men stormed Bellagio Jewellers II inside Oshawa Centre at 3:45 p.m. on March 29, deploying bear spray and driving hard-edged tools into display cases while a Sunday afternoon crowd moved through the mall around them. Within minutes, it was the shoppers themselves who stopped them.

Two of the four men who entered the store never made it past the mall's interior corridors. Security staff and bystanders intervened as the suspects tried to flee, with footage that circulated widely online showing one shopper putting a suspect in a chokehold while others pressed a second man to the floor. "Those four suspects attempted to flee the mall, however, two of them were apprehended by mall security officials as well as some civilians," Durham Regional Police Const. Nicholas Gluckstein confirmed.

The remaining suspects fled in a waiting vehicle but were involved in a minor collision at Stevenson Road North and King Street West. All of them tried to escape on foot but were arrested after a foot chase with assistance from the DRPS K-9 Unit.

Durham police identified three of the adult suspects: Romario Abraham, 18, of Mississauga; Coulton Peters-McComb, 22, of Barrie; and Ryan MacPhail, 40, of no fixed address. Two teenagers were also charged; their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Charges include robbery, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, and leaving the scene of an accident. All five were held for bail hearings.

Oshawa Fire attended the mall to assist with ventilation from the bear spray exposure. Minor injuries were reported and treated at the scene. No one required hospital transport.

For a store like Bellagio Jewellers II, whose inventory of engagement rings and fine jewellery makes it a predictable target, the March 29 raid bore the hallmarks of careful planning: five participants, a chemical deterrent to slow pursuit, a waiting vehicle, and a pre-mapped escape route through the parking lot. What the group did not plan for was a mall full of people willing to intervene. Durham Regional Police said the investigation remains active as officers continue reviewing surveillance footage and witness statements, leaving open the question of whether additional charges or co-conspirators will follow.