Two men charged in 3-hour crime spree that targeted four SW Calgary restaurants
Posted Feb 26, 2026 9:42 am.
Last Updated Feb 26, 2026 6:40 pm.
Calgary police have charged two men in a series of cash register thefts, break-and-enters, and one robbery targeting restaurants across the city that all happened in a matter of hours.
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, investigators say the two suspects entered four restaurants in the span of three hours, aggressively grabbing the cash registers and fleeing in a stolen white 2003 GMC Sierra.
It started at 4:25 p.m. at Boyd’s Lobster Shop, located at 1515 D 14 Street SW. Just minutes later, the pair hit One Love Caribbean Restaurant at 1510 6 Street SW at 4:33 p.m. ahead of Oakberry Acai Bowls and Smoothies on 17 Avenue SW at 6:55 p.m.
The last stop on the spree was Villages Pizza around 7:30 p.m. at 3915 17th Avenue SW.
“Apparently there was a van stopped in front of the store for about five minutes that I didn’t realize,” says Oakberry employee Maria Luiza Poli Guimarães. “And when he came in, he just walked in and grabbed the cashier register…..and just left the store, entered the van and ran away.”
“It was really shocking.”
Collaboration between various Calgary Police Service district teams, the canine unit, and the auto theft team lead investigators to believe the same people were responsible for all the crimes.
Later that same day, police found and arrested the suspects at a home in south Calgary.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, police searched a home on 26 Avenue SW in Bankview and seized evidence.
Michael Christopher Begg, a 36-year-old from Lethbridge, has been charged with one count each of robbery and possession of stolen property. He’s also charged with three counts of thefts under $5,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
Forty-three-year-old Calgarian Matthew James Kelly has been charged with one count each of robbery and possession of stolen property, five counts of breach of a release order, and four counts of breach of probation order. He next court date is set for March 9.
An investigation into the incidents is ongoing.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234 or tip anonymously through CrimeStoppers.
