Public tips lead to charges in 2009 armed bank robbery

Calgary Police have released this photo of the prime suspect in connection with a violent bank robbery in February 2009. (Supplied)

Calgary police have arrested and charged two people in connection to a bank heist which occurred more than six years ago.

On the morning of February 7, 2009, a TD Bank staff member unlocked the doors of the branch in the 3000 block of 17 Avenue Southeast at approximately 7:00 a.m. A suspect armed with a handgun entered the branch and demanded cash. The employees complied with the man’s demands and supplied the suspect with what police refer to as a ‘substantial quantity of cash’.

The suspect fled the premises after forcing the branch employees into the bank’s vault. No one was injured in the incident.

On the six-year anniversary of the robbery, police issued a request for information from the public. Recent tips from the public led police to the two suspects.

A Calgarian, 39-year-old Shaun Alexander Folk, was identified as the suspected culprit and apprehended.

With assistance from the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, the alleged accomplice in the heist, 36-year-old Marina Makrides from Sydney, Nova Scotia, was arrested on April 6 and transported to Calgary.

Folk faces charges of:

Robbery (two counts)

Forcible confinement (two counts)

Possession of a weapon or imitation in the commission of an offence

Being masked during the commission of an offence

Makrides charges include:

Robbery (two counts)

Forcible confinement (two counts)

The accused remain in custody. Makrides is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday and Folk’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 27, 2015.