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34 banks hit in 10 weeks

2 charged; Lower Mainland-wide crime spree included 3 North Vancouver holdups

TWO men are facing a litany of charges after allegedly holding up 34 Lower Mainland banks in a little more than two months.

Duane Robert Burd, 39, and Timothy Peter Everett, 30, are accused of robbing financial institutions in seven different municipalities - including three banks in North Vancouver.

The spree began here with a robbery at Scotiabank in Lynn Valley Shopping Centre Oct. 11, and extended to Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Langley, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge, according to police.

The men allegedly returned twice to the North Shore, first to the North Shore Credit Union on Mount Seymour Parkway on Nov. 7 and later to the TD Canada Trust at Mountain Highway and Lynn Valley Road on Dec. 9.

Police claim the men hit a new bank on average every two and a half days - sometimes targeting two in a single 24-hour period - and continued at that rate until Dec. 20, shortly before investigators finally caught up with them.

The arrests mark the end of a wide-ranging investigation involving 20 officers drawn from all of the affected jurisdictions, according to the Vancouver police.

"It was a huge joint effort," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, a spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. "A lot of work was put into it."

De Jong wouldn't say exactly how police closed the case, but he said it involved the use of security footage, covert surveillance and other methods.

The effort was complicated by the fact the suspects were relatively unknown to police before the spree began, according to investigators.

Burd is charged with 20 counts of robbery and six counts of using an imitation firearm during the commission of an offence. Everett is facing 11 counts of robbery and three of using an imitation firearm. He has also been charged with theft and assault in connection with a New Westminster shoplifting incident and with assaulting his girlfriend.

jweldon@nsnews.com