Three years in prison for a young bank-robber bank

Photo Chantal Poirier
The bank robber Irving Fosu has covered the face not to be photographed on his arrival at the palace of justice in Montreal on Friday.

Michael Nguyen

Friday, 25 August, 2017 21:31

UPDATE
Friday, 25 August, 2017 21:31

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A young thief without remorse, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for bank robberies committed in cold blood in the west-island of Montreal, in just two weeks.

“It was difficult to acknowledge the facts, there is a lack of empathy towards the victims,” said judge Pierre Labrie before you condemn Irving Fosu.

Fosu, 23 years old, had stolen nearly $ 40,000 in three robberies in banks, and another in a convenience store, in the fall of 2012, when he was only 19 years old.

And he was preparing the flights, noted the magistrate. In addition to wear gloves and goggles, he conspired to hide the face before heading to the cashier with a fake gun.

Trapped

“Stay calm and nobody will be hurt, I want to 185 000 $,” he said during a robbery in a branch of the Bank of Montreal.

During another flight, he was handed a note less than reassuring to a clerk.

“This is a hold up, put 60 000 $ in this bag and nobody will be hurt “, was all he said.

In both cases, he was left with a few thousand dollars.

Its last flight, on November 1, 2012, had, however, turned out badly for him. After having pointed his fake gun at an employee, he was given wads of tickets. The clerk, however, has slipped two packages of explosives filled with ink which, after having been activated at a distance, sprayed the thief.

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

This Photo was taken on July 11.

Apologies

“The accused has fled on foot, but it was followed by a customer of the bank who called 911, explained Marie-Claude Bourassa of the Crown upon the plea of guilty. The police intercepted him shortly after because he was covered in ink, his air pistol was also covered with ink. “

After his arrest, he claimed to have acted at the request of some people, without revealing their identity.

“He said that he would never have done this out of his own head,” says a criminologist hired by the defense to evaluate the defendant.

Despite an expert report showing the lack of empathy of the robber and his high risk of recidivism, Fosu was obliged to apologize when he had admitted his guilt.

“He said that he was sorry for what he has done, he apologized to his father, who was not raised like that,” noted the judge.

The father of Fosu, sat in the courtroom Friday, seemed also in shock to see her son in the dock. Several times while the judge read his judgment, he had to wipe away tears.

Irving Fosu, meanwhile, has remained impassive throughout the hearing.

“It’s hard to open because he is afraid of the system “, according to a report cooked up by the defense.

DNA

During oral arguments on the sentence to be imposed on Fosu, Me Sharon Sandiford proposed a sentence of 12 months imprisonment. His vis-à-vis the Crown believed that four years of imprisonment would be more appropriate.

The judge has finally leaned toward the proposal of the prosecution.

In addition to the penalty of the penitentiary, Fosu was banned from possessing weapons for the rest of his life. It will also provide a sample of his DNA to the authorities.