Man charged in string of small-town bank robberies in southern Manitoba

A 30-year-old man has been charged in connection with five bank robberies in less than two months across southern Manitoba.

The man, from Morden, was arrested Jan. 9 after different vehicles were used to rob banks in Steinbach (Nov. 10), Lowe Farm (Nov. 14), Glenboro (Dec. 8) and the same institution in Miami on two occasions (Dec. 23 and Jan. 3).

In all but the Steinbach robbery, the man fled with money after handing tellers a note suggesting he had a gun. 

"We're hoping that today's announcement brings back a sense of safety to all the employees and communities that were affected," RCMP Insp. Tim Arseneault said.

Police said the man used different vehicles that did not belong to him. A witness in one case got a licence plate number and police used it to narrow the investigation, which led to the arrest on Jan. 9.

Police searched two residences, one in the rural municipality of Hanover and the other in Morden. The searched turned up "several key pieces of evidence," including cash and clothing that matched the description of the robber's clothes, Arseneault said.

No weapon was ever seen and none was seized. Arseneault wouldn't say exactly how much money was stolen but it's in the thousands.

Some of the cash was recovered but not all, he said.

More than 70 staff from various RCMP detachments and units as well as the Morden Police Service were involved.

"This was not an easy investigation, as it spanned four communities and some crime scenes were separated by more than 200 kilometres. They did a massive amount of work to come to a successful conclusion," Arseneault said.

The investigation continues to see if anyone else was involved, he said.