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{NORTH SHORE
JOWNED AND MANAGED

December 4,

|
faces 23. theft ch arges

A BANK bandit dubbed by Vancouver Police ‘(Manila

Envelope’’ and believed to be

responsible for 23 bank rob-

beries netting over $50,000 since June 12, 1986, has stuffed

his last envelope.

West Vancouver Police arrested
30-year-old Brian Walker, of no
fixed address, following a robbery
Wednesday morning at the Na-
tional Trust located in Park Royal
south.

THE ‘Manila Envelope’ bandit as

-seen from a bank camera. Brian

Walker faces 23 theft charges.

A man walked into the trust
company at approximately 10:20
a.m., produced a note and made
off with an undisclosed amount of
money.

The lone suspect ‘was arrested
without struggle shortly after by
West Vancouver Police in a road-
block set up on the eastbound
lanes of the approach to the Lions
Gate Bridge.

West Vancouver Police have
charged Walker with two counts of
robbery stemming from: Wednes-
day’s robbery and an Oct. 13 rob-

bery of the same trust company.

A Vancouver Police spokesman
said Walker would be charged
Thursday with an additional 21
counts of robbery but charges had
not been laid to press time Thurs-
day.

North Vancouver RCMP believe
the man may be responsible for a
number of bank robberies in North
Vancouver and are considering
charges.

“*He'’s one of the best to come
along. He’s been a real cagey
fellow,”’ said a Vancouver Police
robbery squad spokesman.

The suspect's modus operandi
was to confront a teller with a note
demanding that money be passed
into a large, empty manila
envelope. Police credit the man's
low-key approach to robbery as a
factor in the longevity of his crime
spree.

Police said the man was courte-
ous and non-threatening in his ap-
proach. The suspect usually wore a
windbreaker with shirt and tie.

But, according to the Vancouver
Police spokesman, repeat visits to
various institutions were another
pattern noted by police, and the
habit uliimately tripped him up.

Predicting a return to the North
Shore this week, West Vancouver
Police had the trust company stak-
ed out when the suspect came back
with another empty envelope
Wednesday.

profiled
PAGE 11

1987 News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337 84 pages 28°

SENTINEL SPARTANS captured the B.C. ‘AA girls’.

performed
PAGE 20

volleyball title last weekend by

beating Penticton in the final. The first ‘A’ school to win the ‘AA’ title, Sentinel.ad-

vanced to the .16-team ‘B.C. championships ‘by winuing the North Shore playofts.
Here, coach Wayne Desjardins a and the team show off their trophies. :