The police response to a suspected fraud at an Oak Bay bank couldn't have been any quicker.
Sgt. Ian Craib with the Oak Bay Police happened to be using the ATM machine at the Oak Bay Avenue Scotiabank Thursday morning when he heard someone call for help.
“I turned around and saw one of the bank employees struggling with a woman who was trying to get out the door. She said ‘Stop her, stop her’,” said Craib.
The woman bolted out of the bank and across Oak Bay Avenue, almost getting hit by a passing truck.
Dave Bignell was just grabbing a coffee when he heard the screech of brakes and looked up to see the woman running across the street.
“Man, she could run,” said Bignell. “I thought she should try out for the Olympics.”
Craib said the woman initially started to pull away from him but eventually began to tire.
“I’ve learned over the years, you just sort of pace yourself and you’ll get there,” he said. “She pulled away from me pretty quick but I caught up to her.”
Craib followed the suspect down Hampshire to Granite, where she turned right and headed through a gate into a back yard.
“She was like a trapped animal in the back. She was trying to scale the fence, she was literally pacing, looking up and trying to grab something.”
He said the woman had discarded a piece of clothing and a wig she had been wearing when he caught up to her.
“I cornered her there and got her to co-operate and brought her in.”
The 25-year-old Victoria area woman was arrested and released to a future court appearance on charges of uttering forged documents and fraud over $5,000.
“It turns out she was trying to get an extensive line of credit but was producing false ID and all sorts of false documentation but the employee caught on to it.”
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