CHAPTER 13
December 13, 2000
On average, a car is stolen every hour in Winnipeg. The majority are recovered, usually within a few hours or days. Calls to police for abandoned and suspicious vehicles are about as common as calls to seedy Main Street bars for drunken, Friday night punch-ups. This particular call came into the police communications centre just after 9 a.m. The 36-year-old man at the other end of the line was reporting an abandoned car sitting on the street outside his sister’s home in the city’s West End. It was a blue Dodge Shadow. “I had seen the description on the news last night which focused on the robbery and shooting that happened at the Polo Park Shopping Centre yesterday,” the man told police. “I looked at the licence plate on the car and it is BDA 833. I remembered this was the licence plate released by the newscast last night that was associated with the stolen car at the robbery. I talked to my sister and she thinks that the car was parked here since yesterday afternoon.” Two general patrol officers arrived on Ross Avenue moments later, an obvious sense of urgency in their work, and confirmed this was no routine dumped car case. They had the getaway car.
It looked like the robber must be hurt bad. The blood smeared throughout the car certainly told a painful story of the suspect’s plight. Officers at the scene made a call to the identification unit, who asked for the car to be towed to the Public Safety Building for a more thorough examination. Police also took footwear impressions in the snow, which pointed in an easterly direction. Three distinct patterns were found, ranging in size from 25 centimetres to 31 centimetres. Given the potential for foot traffic in the suburban neighbourhood, they would likely be of little assistance.
At the Public Safety Building, police took swabs from 15 separate locations inside the car, including the gear shifter, glove box opener, passenger side sun visor, steering column, floor mat, door handles and turn signal. The driver’s side carpet was completely red. Two tiny tissues, crumpled on the floor, showed of a pitiful attempt to treat the wounds. They likely had been saturated by blood within seconds and would have done little to stop the flow. Police wondered if the Yuletide Bandit wasn’t on death’s door.
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“Hello. Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home? Come on, now. I hear you’re feeling down. Well I can ease your pain, Get you on your feet again. Relax. I need some information first. Just the basic facts: Can you show me where it hurts? There is no pain, you are receding. A distant ship’s smoke on the horizon.You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re sayin’. When I was a child I had a fever. My hands felt just like two balloons. Now I got that feeling once again. I can’t explain, you would not understand. This is not how I am. I have become comfortably numb. Ok. Just a little pinprick. [ping] There’ll be no more –aaaaaahhhhh! But you may feel a little sick. Can you stand up? I do believe it’s working. Good. That’ll keep you going for the show. Come on it’s time to go. There is no pain, you are receding. A distant ship’s smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re sayin’. When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now. The child is grown, the dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.”
Michael Syrnyk was drifting in and out of consciousness as a Pink Floyd tape played in the background. The last 12 hours were somewhat blurry, an intense mix of pain and pleasure the like he’d never experienced before. There were moments Syrnyk felt like he was about to die as he watched the pulsating blood ooze from his wound. But he knew a doctor or hospital was out of the question. There were other moments he felt more alive than ever before. He would see a light and feel safe. On some cryptic level, Syrnyk was enjoying himself. The wound was gruesome, a small hole visible through his ankle near the Achilles tendon, indicating a point of entry and a point of exit. Clearly, it was going to leave a permanent scar. Syrnyk would have to be even more careful in the future.
He was literally a marked man.
The burning had subsided, having been numbed somewhat by peroxide, rubbing alcohol and medical bandages. At first, Syrnyk had wrapped duct tape around his leg, a band-aid solution if there ever was one that would have to do until he had his supplies. Syrnyk vowed to never tell anyone about how he was nursed back to health – but his good friend, Marlene Griffin, had come through when he needed her most.
Syrnyk flashed back to the shooting, his mind retracing every single detail. He saw a clear image of the man who shot him, his face remarkably calm during Syrnyk’s ambush. He was so cool, thought Syrnyk. Cooler than me anyways. Syrnyk knew he would be laid up for a while, his ability to put pressure on his leg becoming more difficult by the hour. The money he’d grabbed from Polo Park would make the recovery easier. “This is going to lay me up for six months. But it’s not going to stop me,” he vowed to himself.
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The Polo Park mayhem certainly had the media’s attention now. Winnipeg radio and television stations had broken in with live coverage of the dramatic robbery. Both daily newspapers went all out in their morning editions, devoting several pages to stories and images that captured the magnitude of the brazen and shocking event. “Panicked shoppers screamed and dove for cover while a robber and an armoured car guard exchanged gunfire at Polo Park Shopping Centre shortly after noon yesterday,” the front-page Winnipeg Free Press story began. “The robber, who police link to several Christmas-time armoured car heists in Winnipeg since 1998, left a trail of blood when he escaped with a bag of cash. Miraculously, nobody else in the bustling mall was hurt.” “I’m still shaking,” said an elderly woman who was in the bank at the time of the heist. I saw him through the window shooting and running and there was all this broken glass. He left blood all over the floor. It was very scary,” the story continued. “I saw this guy with a gun and I heard shots,” said Henry, who was eating at the A&W restaurant on the second-floor of the mall and watched the incident play out below him through the window. “It happened so fast I figured it was put on like a movie. But I know now, that was real.” “We’re anxious to get this guy off the streets as soon as possible,” said police spokesman Const. Bob Johnson. “We are using all available resources to catch him.” Police confirmed the bandit had been shot and wounded and pleaded with the public for help in ending his reign of terror. They released limited information about the woman seen buying medical supplies. “A wounded outlaw was holed up somewhere in the city last night, possibly with help from a female accomplice,” the Free Press story read. “Police described the Yuletide Bandit as dangerous and probably unstable.” There were a few paragraphs that were of particular concern to Syrnyk, who was carefully following the coverage of his crimes and actually felt proud of the attention he’d commanded. Police and medical officials described the high potential for infection if the wound was left untreated. Syrnyk, ever the worrier, began having moments of panic where he thought his foot might rot, perhaps even fall off.
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Thomas had more information for police. One day after telling investigators about the woman buying medical supplies in Pharmasave, Thomas was back on the phone claiming he’d found more evidence. Thomas, it seemed, fancied himself as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. He told police he’d spent the past few hours checking garbage bins in the back lane near his home, which was just down the block from the drug store. Thomas told a sergeant in the major crimes unit he had found bloody clothes in one of the dumpsters near a 7-Eleven.
Police raced to the scene, where Thomas produced his evidence – a spotless woman’s sweatshirt and sweatpants. “They had absolutely no blood on them, and it was apparent at this time he doesn’t have his full senses about him. These clothes had nothing to do with our case and his call was totally unfounded,” police said in one of their reports. Fortunately, police had the Pharmasave clerk who confirmed Thomas’s earlier version of events, otherwise that too would be in question. “It appears he is enjoying the attention he is receiving from police regarding this matter,” police said of their “star” informant.
With the discovery of the stolen car, police began pounding the pavement in the immediate area of Polo Park, knocking on doors, desperate for any information. Officers planned to spend the next few days speaking with several hundred people. Many residents were obviously home but refused to answer. Police had no choice but to leave. Those who did open the door had little to offer. Police made special note of homes where young, blonde females were present, and were always checking for signs of injuries on any males who answered the door. A few things caught their eye. One man had his right knee in a bandage, claiming he’d just had surgery two days earlier. Police later confirmed his story. Another resident claimed he’d found blood behind his home. Police tested it and determined it wasn’t blood. Another witness described a native male who purchased medical supplies from the Safeway store at Burrows Avenue and Keewatin Street the previous day, just hours after the hold-up. Another tipster claimed a fired Securicor employee matched the description of the woman seen buying medical supplies. Police printed a picture of the woman and showed it to the Pharmasave clerk, who was adamant she wasn’t the customer. So many leads to chase, but all ultimately leading to the same dead end.
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The grainy video images of the Yuletide Bandit blasting away outside the crowded Polo Park quickly became the talk of the town, elevating the fears of a community already on edge. Television stations that had been provided the tape by police replayed the drama over and over in CNN-like fashion. It was the ultimate reality television. “We would really like to know who this guy is,” Const. Bob Johnson told the media. “This guy is obviously a very dangerous individual.”
Meanwhile, the robbery had armoured car guards even more on edge, and the political fallout was beginning as well. A guard with Brink’s publicly accused armoured car companies of sacrificing safety to boost profits. Mike Blundell said armoured cars used to be staffed by three or four guards, but the number had been reduced to two in most cases. As was the case in the Polo Park incident, one of the two had to remain in the vehicle at all times. “That means you’ve got nobody to watch your back,” Blundell told the media. “That’s outrageous. We’re just sitting ducks out there.” His anger came as Brink’s employees were out on strike, and Securicor guards were seeking mediation to resolve their own contract dispute. Guards earn on average between $10.75 and $12.46 an hour - “less than what a courier driver makes,” Blundell said.
The public call for help was perhaps doing police more harm than good. Officers were being pulled from all districts to help chase down leads and theories, some which bordered on the absurd. On December 14, police got a tip that the bandit was holed up inside a north-end home. Five police units, including the canine team, met in the parking lot of the Merchants Hotel at the corner of Selkirk Avenue and Pritchard Street. They discussed a plan of action. The heavily-armed officers went to the nearby home and pounded on the door moments later. There was no immediate answer, so they kicked it in. Police found their supposed suspect inside his home, sitting on the couch. He was not injured, had an alibi, and was clearly the wrong man. “It would appear the anonymous caller had a vendetta against the individual as the information supplied was totally erroneous,” police later reported. They left the scene, giving the angry homeowner a card with the number of the city claims office, who police suggested might be able to cover the damage done to his door.
Police responded to a report of blood on the street in the area, but ultimately traced it to a woman who had been stabbed in the hand by her husband and never reported the incident. On December 16, investigators went to Stony Mountain penitentiary to speak with an inmate who had called police, claiming to have information about the elusive bandit. The inmate claimed the suspect lived on Logan Avenue and was a “crazy guy” who had got his “old lady” to buy medical supplies for him. The information proved to be bogus, the product of yet another axe-to-grind.
Hours later, a tipster told police they might want to speak with a certain individual whom he believed had some information. Police tracked down the man, who was dumbfounded.
“He stated he knew nothing about the robbery at all, and that he had no idea why someone would say that he knew about the robbery,” police said in their report. “Although, he said he would keep his ears open regarding it.”
Then another tip came in, which seemed promising. The caller claimed a man named Clint, who had just been released from a Winnipeg drug and alcohol treatment centre, was responsible. He claimed Clint’s girlfriend, Vera, was taking care of him. Police went to the treatment facility and were given a short list of four possible suspects all named Clinton. The men had been released in 1995, 1998, 1999 and October 2000. After much digging, none of them panned out.
On December 19, a caller claimed two brothers, whose names he provided, were assisting the Yuletide Bandit. Police tracked the men down the following day, and quickly discredited the caller’s story. “A subsequent interview with the informant lead the informant to advise he had a personal grudge against the two men and was lying about his knowledge,” police reported. However, the two falsely accused men gave police the name of another suspect they felt could be responsible. Police ran a record check on the man, and determined he fit the general suspect description. Their interest was heightened when they saw a conviction on his record – a 1992 robbery of a Loomis Armoured Car. There were several warrants out for the man’s arrest, as he had gone AWOL from some court-ordered conditions in British Columbia. Alas, their hopes were dashed when police turned to science. The man’s fingerprints were on file, and didn’t match the ones police had taken from the Loomis robbery in 1999. Even worse, they had a sample of the man’s hair, which didn’t match the DNA they had from the spilled blood. Another brick wall.
Weeks later, another so-called informant crawled out of the woodwork and came to police with a potential lead. The man claimed he knew another man, who worked as a driver for an exotic dancer. The informant claimed the driver thought his girl was giving medical care to the bandit. Police chased down the driver, who didn’t know what the hell they were talking about. It never seemed to end. And the result was police were still no closer to solving a case that seemed certain to end in tragedy.