Detectives assigned to the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) 1 District (St. Catharines / Thorold) Criminal Investigative Branch (CIB) have been actively investigating two bank robberies that occurred in the downtown area of the City of St. Catharines. The first robbery occurred on October 31st, 2022, at the TD Bank located at 31 Queen Street and the second robbery occurred on November 8th, 2022, at the Bank of Montreal located at 31 King Street.
On November 10th, 2022, the suspect was identified by detectives and a BOLO (be on the lookout) was distributed to all officers in the City of St. Catharines and throughout the Region of Niagara.
On November 11th, 2022, at 2:23am 1 District uniform patrol officers were conducting a proactive foot patrol in the Richard Pierpoint Park, located at 321 Oakdale Avenue, in the City of St. Catharines. An individual was located sleeping in a makeshift shelter who appeared to have a likeness to the wanted robbery suspect. Officers continued to investigate and ultimately confirmed the individual’s identity as being the suspect wanted for both bank robberies.
Kevin PENZES (40 years) of St. Catharines has been arrested and charged with the following Criminal Code offence:
• Robbery (2 counts)
PENZES was held in custody and appeared in bail court on November 11th, 2022, via video link to John Sopinka Courthouse, located at 45 Main Street East, in the City of Hamilton. He has since been remanded into the custody of Ontario Correctional Services.
Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact detectives at 905-688-4111, dial option #3, extension #1009511.
Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information that leads to an arrest.
Incidents #22-128047 & #22-124523
Original Release – Robbery at TD Bank (Click Here)
Original Release – Robbery at Bank of Montreal (Click Here)