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Serial bank robber handed 7-year prison sentence

Mar 1, 2017 | 9:29 AM

KAMLOOPS – A 29-year old man who robbed a series of banks in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan — including one in Lethbridge — has been handed a seven year prison sentence.

The sentence follows a lengthy trip through the justice system, which saw Shaun Christopher Cornish first appear in Lethbridge Provincial Court in February of 2015, before having the charges waived to Kamloops in October of 2016, so he could enter a guilty plea.

Cornish was arrested at a hotel in Grande Prairie on Jan. 30, 2015, after robbing nine banks across the three provinces and taking $15,000.

It all started in Princeton B.C. on Dec. 1, 2014, when Cornish made a call to 911, distracting the only officer who was on duty. He then went into the bank, approached the teller and asked how her day was going. When she said she was fine, he responded, “Well I’m sorry, but it’s just going to get worse.” He then drew a pellet gun and took $485.

In the Lethbridge incident on Jan. 13, 2015, Cornish walked into the TD Bank along the 2000 block of Mayor Magrath Drive South, approached the tellers, produced a firearm and demanded cash. He then fled after an undisclosed amount of money was handed over.

In every case, Cornish entered near closing time, wearing a disguise of either a hood or toque and sunglasses. In all but one of the cases he used an imitation firearm and would act aggressively, but apologized to a number of employees for what he was doing.

At the sentencing hearing, defence lawyer, Dale Melville, stated that Cornish had a good paying job, but was $60,000 in debt and had a substantial drug and alcohol addiction. When he was laid off, Melville says Cornish turned to robbing banks out of desperation.

Cornish did read part of a statement that he prepared for the court, saying, “I’m not here by accident. I am in prison because of the choices I made two years ago.” When he started to tear up, Melville took over, reading that Cornish “Couldn’t fathom stealing for something as insignificant as alcohol.”

With credit for time already spent in pre-trial custody, Cornish has four years left on his sentence.