Man accused of robbing banks set for preliminary hearing

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on February 23, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man accused of robbing the same bank twice in two months, is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing, but not until later in the summer.

Lethbridge lawyer Cara Lebenzon told a judge Thursday in Lethbridge court of justice that the preliminary hearing for Jamie Gerald Bagu is set for three days beginning July 17.

A preliminary hearing is typically held to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant holding a trial.

Bagu, who previously elected to be tried in King’s Bench with a judge and jury, is charged with two counts each of robbery with a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, pointing a firearm, use of a firearm while committing an offence, and disguised with intent, and one count each of assault with a weapon and unsafe storage of a firearm.

Bagu is accused of robbing the CIBC in the 500 block of 13 Street North on March 17 and April 11 of last year.

Police reported that in both incidents a man entered the bank and demanded money at gunpoint. The suspect then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured during the robberies.

A vehicle with distinctive features was recorded by a video surveillance camera leaving the area at a high rate of speed following the second robbery. Police later found the vehicle and identified a suspect.

The accused, who remains in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, had been attempting to schedule a bail review in the Court of King’s Bench, after he was denied bail last June in the lower court. He was scheduled to have a review on Nov. 27 in CKB, but it was cancelled after he fired Calgary lawyer Katherin Beyak a few days earlier and was unrepresented on the day he was to ask a judge to release him.

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