Three people are facing a total of 64 charges in connection with a bank robbery and series of ATM thefts across southern and central Saskatchewan over the past three months.
The bank robbery occurred last November in Landis, a small village roughly 130 kilometres west of Saskatoon, North Battleford RCMP said in a press release.
A male suspect entered the bank on the morning of Nov. 22, 2024, and demanded cash from employees after threatening them with a handgun, police said. He was described as between five-foot-six and five-foot-eight, wearing black sweatpants, a black hoodie, sunglasses, and a grey and blue camouflage bandana over his face.
Investigators have established a link between the bank robbery and a string of ATM thefts and attempted thefts in the communities of Battleford, Craven, Dodsland, Gull Lake, Rosetown, Wolseley, and several others, police said.
Police executed a search warrant on Feb. 5 in the Town of Biggar in connection with both the bank robbery and the thefts and arrested two individuals.
“At the residence, officers located and seized items believed to be connected to the ATM occurrences and Landis bank robbery,” the RCMP said in a news release.
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Charged in connection with the search are Sheena Benoit, 36, and 33-year-old Joshua Meszaros.
Benoit, who also goes by the name Sheena Harrabek, faces 16 charges, including three counts of break and enter, one count of theft over $5,000, six counts of theft under $5,000, and six counts of damage to property worth over $5,000.
Meszaros faces 24 charges, including four counts of break and enter, seven counts of using a disguise to commit a crime, one count of theft over $5,000, six counts of theft under $5,000, five counts of damage to property over $5,000, and one count of damage to property valued under $5,000.
A third suspect, 48-year-old Jeremy Seery of Rosetown, was arrested on Feb. 12.
He also faces 24 charges, including three counts of break and enter, one count of robbery with offensive weapon, seven counts of using a disguise in a crime, one count of theft over $5,000, six counts of theft under $5,000, and six counts of damage to property valued over $5,000.
Meszaros and Benoit are expected to appear in North Battleford Provincial Court on April 7 and Seery is scheduled to appear on April 14, police said.
Several police detachments were involved with the investigation, the RCMP said.
“Complex investigations like this involve extensive resources and large-scale coordination across multiple detachment areas,” said Sgt. Adam Buckingham, the officer in charge of North Battleford Provincial General Investigation Section (GIS).
“The sheer number of crimes solved in this investigation really highlights the successful collaboration between support units of the RCMP and front-line officers.”
Members of the public with information relating to the crimes are asked to contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
