A prolific bank robber who was accidentally released from jail and went on to commit at least one robbery before being caught again has been sentenced to more than seven years in jail.
Dean Zastowny, 47, was first arrested in Surrey on Nov. 12 and charged in connection with robberies in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Vancouver, Richmond, Abbotsford, Surrey and Maple Ridge.
His prolific activity had prompted the Canadian Bankers Association to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, and Abbotsford police had released a video of him jumping across a bank counter and threatening tellers with a knife.
On Dec. 1, however, B.C. Corrections inadvertently released Zastowny from the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre.
(The correctional service didn’t release any details about how he got out.)
He was re-arrested on Dec. 5 at the Lougheed SkyTrain station after an armed robbery in the 4100 block of North Road.
A description of Zastowny (a suspect in the robbery) had been broadcast, and Transit Police officers had spotted him walking into the station.
Last month, he was found guilty on six counts of robbery, escape from lawful custody and obstruction.
One of those robberies, in Maple Ridge on Dec. 2, happened after his accidental release.
He had also been charged in a robbery in Burnaby on Dec. 5, the day he was re-arrested, but that charge and five others were stayed.
Zastowny was sentenced to seven years and 140 days in jail and handed a lifetime weapons ban.
