Bank bandit evades police and German shepherd from the canine unit. BMO on Brant was robbed.

By Pepper Parr

January 3, 2014, Burlington, ON. 

It was just after 1:30 pm.  I was driving up John Street into the Plaza on Brant that is home to Joe Dogs when I spotted a police cruiser with its light flashing stopped in the parking lot behind the Bank of Montreal, just south of Eatalia on Brant.

I glanced to the far end of the parking lot and saw an unmarked cruiser in the drive coming in off Brant Street.  Police had clearly blocked access to the bank parking lot.

I made a fast U-turn and parked my car – illegally – and grabbed my camera.  There was no movement.  The police officer didn’t have much to say.  It was cold and I had very light foot wear on – so after standing around for 10 minutes I got back into my car drove in the parking lot and slipped into the Scotia Bank where I had an account, took out some cash and headed down Brant Street where I saw five policed vehicles, sirens blaring, come to a screeching halt in the middle of Brant where all kinds of police officers piled out.  Officers went to the trunks of the vehicles and grabbed weapons while the officer from the canine unit let the dog out of the van.

Dog from the canine unit had a little personal business to take care of before picking up a scent and chasing down a bank robber.

The dog had a little personal business to take care of first before he was led to the side of the bank to pick up a scent – and then they were off. 

Two “beefy police officers following the German shepherd at the rear of Joe Dogs on Brant Street looking for the bank robber.

The canine officer, two of the beefiest police officers I have seen in some time and a very young, nervous looking officer with a sub-machine gun following rapidly behind the dog who was leading through a city parking lot east of John Street, then back to Joe Dogs where he was sniffing away.

Police stand by as German shepherd picks up scent of suspected bank robber outside Bank of Montreal branch on Brant Street.

Then back to the bank parking lot and eventually back down John Street towards Caroline.  I got the sense that whatever the dog was looking for wasn’t going to be found.

And the man, who had entered the bank at about 1:30, according to the police report was not apprehended.

Police reported that on Friday, January 3, 2014, at about 1:30pm, a lone male suspect entered the Bank of Montreal at 519 Brant St in Burlington where he indicated he had a weapon and demanded cash.

The suspect made off with a quantity of cash and fled in an unknown direction.

The suspect is described as: Male, white, 6’4-6’5, early 30’s, clean-shaven, wearing beige pants, a blue hooded winter jacket, dark toque over top of a baseball cap and sunglasses.

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6 comments to Bank bandit evades police and German shepherd from the canine unit. BMO on Brant was robbed.

  • Ley

    JSkardzius….Might I add…I have been a proud “TAX PAYING” Canadian citizen residing in the city of Burlington for over 50 yrs.
    May I ask how long you have been a resident of Burlington and what will qualify me to be Burlington’s ambassador to fashion? Where did you apply for that position!?

  • Ley

    JSkardzius….I agree totally with 57Chevy!! Beige pants buddy…get serious!! I wore my big girl beige pants yesterday!! Yes made with heavy material!! And yes….we are not all rich and infamous! I guess I am in poverty and not part of the “in crowd”!
    And you are an expert on “fashion and what is Burlington’s dress code” I guess you are the fashion police and follow the Kardashians”
    The description of a felon and what they are wearing is to assist in their arrest not a fashion statement!!

  • JSkardzius

    Beige pants? Suspect can not be a Burlington resident. Everyone knows beige is verboten after Labor Day.

    • 57Chevy

      JSkardzius – please comment seriously. Someone could have been injured or killed and those that witnessed the crime are obviously quite shaken up and perhaps traumatized. Put yourself in their shoes for one moment and you won’t be thinking about beige. Whether the criminal is a Burlington resident or not – the crime happened here in Burlington (5 mins from my home and perhaps yours) and that’s what’s scary!

      • JSkardzius

        Hello 57Chevy,
        I am compelled to respond to your unsolicited response to my comment, despite my belief that it will not alter your worldview. In the faint hope that it does I shall now respond “seriously.”

        Without a doubt the potential for trauma of some sort may have resulted from this robbery. Nothing that I could comment upon in the article could alter that. My perceived lack of empathy for the victims is merely the reflection of your own biases. Having had a knife brandished threateningly towards my person upon more than one occasion, I would venture to guess that I might be able to elicit more “sympatico” with the staff at the bank than most of the populace of this fair city.

        Now let us reflect upon the injury that elicited your biting response. The man wore beige pants. Let me explain what that means. It means that the perpetrator was wearing clothing that was not appropriate for the unseasonably cold temperature of the day. You won’t find beige pants in a heavy material that would shelter a well prepared bank robber from the elements whilst on the lamb. Yet he robbed a bank on one of the coldest days of the year. One can assume with confidence, I think we will agree, that the man in question was ill prepared, and did not have the means to equip himself with even the basics for success; warm clothing. One might surmise that the robbery was an act of desperation. Bank robberies are either grand statements of skill and competence or misguided attempts to grab some quick cash by those with poor decision making skills. The latter seems to fit our poor bank robber, I would postulate.
        So yes, beige is out of season in the affluent Bubble of Burlington. This man was not of our “social milieu,” shall we say.
        So rather than waste time attempting to remediate some off the cuff, but hopefully thought provoking one liner…think about the societal implications of an ill prepared, ill equipped broad daylight bank robbery in one of Canada’s most affluent boroughs.
        Thought so.

        Editor’s note:
        What was interesting was that it took close to 25 minutes for the squad of police cars to arrive. The first two cars had the parking lot sealed – but it was easily 25 minutes before the other cars arrived. I had time to go to my own bank next door and take out some cash and then wander down Brant. The bandit was long gone by the time the police squads got there. He could have been at Emma’s enjoying a hot Todddy.

        • 57Chevy

          JSkardzius ,
          SERIOUSLY, number #1 – take the brick off your shoulder, #2 – take the blind fold off and take a good look around (there a lot of beige pants in Burlington). Burlington is not only made up of the rich and infamous – do you know the stats of middle class and poverty in your own community. Obviously, NOT. So whether this bank robber was a pro or amateur (for whatever reason) – it still leaves us ALL Burlington residents with a sense of fear. Therefore, next time say what you really mean!