Police say one man is responsible for a string of recent robberies across southern Manitoba.
Police say thousands of dollars were stolen in five separate robberies at financial institutions in Steinbach, Lowe Farm, Glenboro, and Miami between Nov. 10 and Jan. 3.
Investigators say in each case a man handed the teller a note demanding money, sometimes indicating he had a weapon.
No shots were fired and no one was injured. Police say some, but not all, of the stolen money has been recovered.
The robberies were initially investigated by individual RCMP detachments, but the RCMP’s major crime services took over all the cases when similarities in the crimes were noticed.
Police say while different get-away vehicles were used in the robberies, the suspect wore similar clothing in each and similarities in the notes handed to tellers were also found.
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The Mounties say the break in the case came after the fifth robbery when they obtained details of a licence plate.
“While the vehicle did not belong to the suspect, it helped investigators to narrow down and eventually identify a person of interest,” Insp. Tim Arseneault said.
At a press conference Thursday Arseneault said officers executed two search warrants at homes in the RM of Hanover and Morden Monday, which led to the seizure of cash and clothing.
A 30-year-old man from Morden, Man. has been charged with five counts of robbery.
Arseneault said more than 70 people were involved in the investigation.
“This was not an easy investigation as it spanned four communities and some crime scenes are separated by more than 200 km,” he said.
“A clear pattern was emerging and we knew that these robberies were going to continue until a suspect was identified and arrested.”
The accused remains in police custody and the RCMP’s major crimes services continue to investigate.
–With files from The Canadian Press