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MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Woman approached by man with gun near bank Two men arrested for robbery, drug charges pending By Jade Swartzberg THE HERALD
newsroom@merrittherald.com
OCTOPUS’ GARDEN Chantalle Anderson performs as a mermaid during a Linda’s Dance Studio recital in Spirit Square on Friday. Dance classes of various age groups performed to Beatles songs in the show called Octopus’ Garden, which was Linda Sanford’s last show before retirement. Jade Swartzberg/Herald
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Two men have been charged with robbery after a Merritt woman was approached by a man with a gun while in her car outside the Royal Bank on June 13. The 35-year-old woman left the bank at around 9 p.m. last Wednesday and returned to her van where six children ranging in age from one to 13 were already seated. When she was ready to drive off, a young man approached the driver’s window, pulled out a gun and told her to give him all of her money. “The fast thinking female drove off fortunately without incident and [drove] to the police station to report the robbery,” says a Merritt RCMP press release. RCMP Cst. Tracy Dunsmore said the woman had only opened the window slightly and didn’t give him any money — she
simply drove off when he pulled out the gun. The male never fired the gun. With the help of the victim, RCMP located the suspect — 23-yearold Kamloops resident Gary Deschamps —and arrested him without incident for robbery. Dunsmore said the victim saw Deschamps walking down Voght Street near the Econo Lodge when she left the detachment and flagged the police who were already out looking for him. He did not have any fire arms when arrested. Further investigation into the robbery revealed a second male was involved and on Friday, RCMP entered a Merritt residence to search for fire arms with a search warrant. Following the search, police arrested 52-yearold Merritt resident Bill Nicholson for robbery. Additional firearms and drug charges are pending. As a result of the search, police also arrested a 17-yearold Lower Mainland resident who now has pending drug charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking. The two men are being held in custody awaiting court appearances and the incident is still under investigation.
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