A Langley man is behind bars today, arrested in connection with a series of armed robberies throughout the Lower Mainland including four in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
Thomas Dennis Prosser, 36, will be back in Port Coquitlam provincial court on Thursday seeking bail.
He faces one charge of robbery, but Const. Amanda Harnett said Ridge Meadows RCMP are investigating his potential involvement in at least five others in the Lower Mainland since Jan. 26.
He was arrested late Wednesday afternoon, a few blocks away from a bank that was robbed at about 3:30 p.m. that same afternoon, Harnett explained.
A lone man entered the Bank of Montreal at 207th Street and Lougheed Highway, indicating he had a gun. He made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
"The band employees did everything right," Harnett said. "They kept themselves safe and provided police key identifying features of the male, which led to his arrest a short distance away, as he fled the scene."
As first responders rolled up on the crime scene, one of the general duty officers observed a man matching the physical description of the suspect walking a few blocks away.
"Although he was not wearing the same clothing, the officer stopped the man and formed the legal grounds to arrest him," Harnett explained. "This further led investigorts to key evidence which concretely linked him to this crime."
As they delved into the case further, police have since found evidence they believe links this man to as many as six other recent robberies of financial institutions several in Maple Ridge and a few other undisclosed communities.