http://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/02/23/armed-carjacking-two-bank-heists-net-edmonton-man-seven-year-sentence
Armed carjacking, two bank heists net Edmonton man seven-year sentence
BY TONY BLAIS, EDMONTON SUN
An Edmonton man who committed a terrifying armed carjacking and two bank heists during a one-day crime spree was sent to a penitentiary on Monday.
Solomon Zemichael Teklie, 40, was handed a seven-year sentence after earlier pleading guilty in Provincial Court to three counts of robbery.
Judge Susan Richardson said it was aggravating that Teklie had taken "great pains" to disguise his face and skin colour by wearing a "sophisticated" mask that she said was "something akin to what an actor would use."
Richardson said it was also "highly aggravating" that Teklie used duct tape on the soles of his shoes, he wore a tuque, sunglasses and gloves, and he had a prior criminal record that included convictions for robbery
According to agreed facts, Teklie came up to Caroline Ombogo as she sat in her car in the parking lot of Northgate Mall, 9499 137 Ave., at 11 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2014.
Teklie knocked on the car window, showed Ombogo a small black gun - which turned out to be a pellet gun - and motioned for her to get out. After she emerged with her hands up, Teklie grabbed her cell phone right out of her hand and then drove off as she ran into the mall.
Court heard Teklie then went to the Bank of Montreal at Londonderry Mall and robbed it of $1,000 cash after showing a female employee his gun and demanding money.
Teklie then drove the stolen car to a CIBC branch at 16135 97 St., where he approached a teller, showed her his gun and again demanded money. He left after being handed $100 in decoy money and a dye pack.
Court heard Teklie was wearing a mask during both hold-ups, which resulted in witnesses describing him as either Caucasian or Hispanic with strange or damaged skin.
Police had responded to the carjacking and both robberies and Teklie was spotted driving the stolen car in the area of 66 Street and 160 Avenue about 11:35 a.m.
Officers successfully boxed the car in and arrested Teklie without incident. The pellet gun was found in his pocket and inside the vehicle was found a skin tone rubber mask.
Police later found a crack pipe made out of a pop can and what appeared to be crack cocaine on Teklie and he told officers while confessing that he was addicted to cocaine.
A victim impact statement by Ombogo revealed the woman was terrified by the carjacking and had to move from the city because she was unable to sleep.
Court heard Teklie was born in the Eritrea region and then moved to Ethiopia, where he lived through civil war that resulted in him losing family members.
Teklie came to Canada in 2000 after being in a refugee camp in Kenya for seven years and he has been diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
At the time of the crime spree, Teklie was working two jobs, but his lawyer noted he was abusing both alcohol and cocaine and suggested he was self medicating because his PTSD had not yet been diagnosed.
Image:
http://storage.edmontonsun.com/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297654126412_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=420x
This is a mask used by Solomon Teklie during his bank robberies. It resulted in witnesses telling police he was a white man with damaged skin that had done the crime. Solomon Teklie, is facing a lengthy prison term after pleading guilty to carjacking and two counts of bank robbery. Court Evidence Photo
Received on Tue Feb 24 2015 - 05:46:33 EST
