A 29-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly robbing the TD bank in Jasper will be held at the Edmonton Remand Centre until April 27 for a bail hearing.
Mauro Parker said nothing as he appeared in the prisoner box in Jasper Provincial Court on April 13.
According to Judge J. Higgerty, robbery charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Parker was arrested by police on April 11 after allegedly robbing the TD bank on Patricia Street before stealing a Shaw Cable van.
According to police, around 9:45 a.m. Jasper RCMP received a high priority call for a robbery in progress at the bank. Upon arrival, officers were told that the suspect had fled on foot with a quantity of cash.
Police said the man allegedly handed a note to a bank teller stating that it was a robbery and to hand over all of the cash in the till. No employees were harmed during the robbery.
Shortly after, RCMP officers received a call for a theft of a vehicle on Elm Avenue. A Shaw Cable employee was working behind the library when a man ran up to his van and jumped in it. The Shaw employee tried to intervene but the suspect drove away at a high rate of speed, damaging an electrical box located behind the library at the same time. With the description provided by the Shaw employee, police were able to connect the recent robbery and the theft of the van to the same suspect.
Jasper RCMP officers immediately forwarded the description of the male and the van to Hinton RCMP. An hour later, police in Hinton located the van and conducted a high-risk traffic stop. The male driver was arrested and taken into custody without incident.
Parker was charged with robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, mischief under $5,000, dangerous driving and breach of an undertaking.
None of the charges or allegations have been proven in court.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
