An Alberta man charged with bank robbery in North Vancouver is also a suspect in two Burnaby bank robberies last month.
A man entered a Scotiabank on Kingsway at about 4:30 p.m. on June 23, according to Burnaby RCMP, and passed a teller a note demanding money.
A similar incident occurred at a Royal Bank on Kingsway shortly before noon on June 27.
In both cases the man got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.
A day later, a man held up a North Vancouver CIBC at gunpoint and fled in a getaway car, according North Vancouver RCMP.
Witnesses from the scene provided a description of the car, which police were able to track down abandoned. Inside, RCMP forensics investigators lifted a fingerprint that was on file with Calgary Police Service’s database, along with a photo of the suspect.
The same man had been caught on surveillance cameras during a bank heist in Calgary on June 19, and police agencies eventually linked the suspect to other bank robberies in Burnaby, Abbotsford, Vancouver, New Westminster and West Vancouver.
“We became quite certain this was a prolific offender with not much intention on disguising himself,” North Vancouver RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong told the North Shore News. “Once the picture showed up, we all just started sharing our investigation and determined it’s the same guy.”
North Vancouver RCMP, with help from Vancouver police, arrested the suspect on June 30, just as he was boarding a bus back to Alberta.
Mikael Macek, 25, has been charged with one count of robbery for the North Vancouver incident, and charges are pending in Burnaby.
-With files from the North Shore News
