Eight suspects in total have been arrested and charged in connection with an armed robbery Tuesday night at a business on Elliott Street.

The eight adults – seven men and one woman – appeared in territorial court Wednesday afternooon, where charges were formally laid.

The accused are:

• Robert Grant Gilbert, 23, of Vernon, B.C.;

• Kelsey Galbraith, 20, of Whitehorse;

• James Alexander Graham, 24, of Whitehorse;

• Benjamin Michel Harper, 20, of Edmonton;

• Jonathan Mark Shane Macleod, 36, of Whitehorse;

• Dale Christopher Lloyd Babiy, 21, of Vernon, B.C.;

• Adam Joseph Desbarres, 43, of Whitehorse; and

• Joshua Landon Saskiw, 19, of Edmonton.

All are charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.

Gilbert, Galbraith, Graham, Harper and Macleod are charged with robbery.

Gilbert, Graham, Harper and Macleod face additional charges of having their faces masked with the intent to commit an indictable offence.

Desbarres is charged with breaching a probation order, Harper is charged with failing to comply with a recognizance, and Saskiw is charged with failing to comply with an undertaking.

The robbery took place at about 5 p.m. Tuesday at Kustom Phone Repairs.

According to Whitehorse RCMP, two men entered the store with a machete and a baton and demanded money. They fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Two hours later, police surrounded a vehicle at Hanson Street and Second Avenue and arrested five people in what they called a “high-risk take down.”

Items seized from the vehicle were consistent with those used during the robbery, police said.

At the courthouse, the number of suspects presented minor logistical challenges late Wednesday afternoon.

The building has five holding cells, so two trips to the Whitehorse Correctional Centre were made, each vanload carrying four suspects.

They appeared in court two at a time.

Gilbert and Babiy entered the prisoner’s box laughing.

Harper and Saskiw also made remarks and laughed to each other during the brief proceedings.

At Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux’s request, no-contact orders were imposed among all the suspects.

“I’m still going to talk to everyone though with a court order,” Harper shouted as he left the courtroom, accompanied by a sheriff and police officer.

All are being kept in custody at the jail until they obtain lawyers and have bail hearings.

A court appearance for each accused has been scheduled in the next two weeks.