The investigation into a bank robbery that happened earlier this month in Cambridge has led to Sault Ste. Marie.
On July 4, two thieves entered the TD Canada Trust branch on Hespeler Road, displayed what appeared to be an explosive device and demanded money from employees getting ready to open the bank for the day.
They left with an unknown amount of money, and police determined that the item left behind was safe.
On Wednesday, police in Sault Ste. Marie revealed that they believe the same suspects behind that robbery are behind a similar incident in the northern Ontario city in March.
“There was a similar robbery that occurred in Sault Ste. Marie earlier this year, and our investigators have been dialoguing with each other in relation to some of the similarities,” says Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel.
In that case, police say, two masked men entered a TD Canada Trust branch, using a sledgehammer to break through a locked door.
One of the men allegedly brandished a handgun and demanded that the two employees in the bank kneel on the floor.
A stolen vehicle from southern Ontario was found by police near the scene of the crime, two days later, but the suspects were not found.
“They were out of the bank very quickly, in under a minute,” says Sault Ste. Marie Police Insp. Steve Train.
“A substantial amount of cash was taken.”
Police say there are similarities in the methods used in both cases – such as the use of a stolen vehicle – as well as in suspect descriptions.
“Both robberies occurred before the bank was actually opened. In both cases, a sledgehammer was used to gain entrance to the bank,” says Heinzel.
Sault Ste. Marie Police credit the Canadian Bankers Association with bringing the similarities to their attention.
