Nanaimo Pub Robbed of Safe and Cash

Custodian Bound and Robbed

Masked men confronted a custodian at a local pub early this morning then made off with a safe and money.

The incident began shortly after 5 AM Monday when a female custodian working at Pipers Pub located on Hammond Bay Rd was confronted by two masked men. They quickly bound her hands and feet with duct tape then proceeded to take the pubs safe and cash from an ATM. The suspects also managed to force the custodian to tell them her PIN numbers for several financial institutions.

The males then left in what appeared to be a 2000-2001 white pickup .The custodian managed to free herself and got to a phone and called 911 with a description of the two.

A short time later an officer on patrol spotted a male inside the HSBC bank near Aulds Rd. The suspect attempted to flee from the officer and a foot chased ensued ending in a violent confrontation between the officer and the suspect. The officer at one point called for assistance from a nearby bus driver with the Regional Transit service who came to his assistance. With both of them struggling with the suspect, the male was eventually taken into custody.

A 48 year old male is currently in police custody facing a variety of charges ranging from robbery, forcible confinement to wearing a mask while committing an indictable offence.

The second male involved in the robbery and the vehicle were not located. The only description of this male is a male around 6 ft, thin, wearing a dark jacket with white stripes on the sides.

Some of the money taken was recovered but the safe and the remainder of the stolen money was not recovered. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800–222-8477(TIPS)