Two men charged in connection with a bank robbery in St. John’s Friday evening allegedly entered the bank with their faces covered while carrying a knife and a shotgun they were apparently not afraid to use.
Travis Wade, 33, and Adam Hayden, 31, are accused of holding up the TD branch on Kelsey Drive shortly before 8 p.m., demanding cash, forcibly confining a person and assaulting two people with their weapons in the process. Hayden allegedly fired a shot into the ceiling during the robbery before the pair escaped. Wade was arrested after the two robbery suspects crashed their pickup on nearby O’Leary Avenue while trying to make their getaway on slippery snow-covered roads.
Hayden reportedly ran away and attempted to carjack a couple on Kenmount Road, pointing the gun at the driver and assaulting him with it. The driver was an off-duty RCMP officer, who held Hayden until RNC officers arrived to take him into custody.
“Great work by RCMP Cpl who foiled a carjacking attempt at gunpoint following an armed robbery of a nearby bank,” RCMP tweeted on Saturday. “Kudos as well to the RNC who arrested the suspects.”
Having made a brief appearance in provincial court on Saturday, Wade, who lives in Conception Harbour, and Hayden, who lives in St. John’s, were back before the judge Monday morning, this time wearing matching blue prison-issued T-shirts. Hayden waved to family members as he took his place in the dock.
Hayden was given a new, unrelated charge: a single count of shoplifting from a St. John’s Sobeys store Nov. 22. That brings his total number of charges to 19, including offences related to possessing the shotgun, forcible confinement, robbery of the bank and of the driver, pointing the gun at a person in the bank and at the driver, and using the gun to assault both of them, uttering threats and more.
Wade is facing six charges: robbery of the bank, forcible confinement, assault with a knife, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and two breaches of court orders.
The pair had been scheduled for a bail hearing but consented to remand instead.
Defence lawyer Tim O’Brien told Judge Pamela Goulding that Hayden was hoping for a “quick turnaround,” while Wade has other matters already before the courts, which are set to be called in January.
Hayden and Wade will make their next court appearance via video from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary on Dec. 5.
Both men have long criminal histories involving robbery and violence. Wade was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2012 for an armed robbery at a C.B.S. Ultramar gas station two years earlier. He had slammed a hammer on the counter and demanded cash and cigarettes, escaping with about $200 and 25 cigarette packages. He told the cashier during the robbery, “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry, but I’m f---ed up.”
Hayden’s last conviction was four years ago, for his role in a riot at HMP in 2013. He and five other inmates took another inmate hostage in exchange for cigarettes while threatening to kill him as well as correctional officers. Once they received the cigarettes, they released the hostage and surrendered. The incident saw the prison damaged to the tune of about $100,000. Hayden made a deal with the Crown, pleading guilty to a charge of interfering with lawful use of property in exchange for the withdrawal of a charge of hostage-taking. He was sentenced to 10 months time served.
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