Canada suspect in armored car shootings in court
Jun 21, 2012, 7:36 PM
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – The suspect in an armored car heist at a Canadian university that left three armed guards dead was charged Thursday with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Travis Baumgartner, handcuffed and wearing a blue prison jumpsuit, showed no expression in court as he was also charged with four counts of robbery using a firearm. He was not required to enter a plea. The next hearing was scheduled for July 5.
Baumgartner, 21, is accused of shooting four colleagues in a G4S Cash Solutions crew that was re-loading bank machines at a University of Alberta mall last week. Baumgartner was the fifth member of the crew at the time, police said.
Dead at the scene were Michelle Shegelski, 26; Eddie Rejano, 39; and Brian Ilesic, 35. The fourth guard is in critical condition.
The armored truck was found abandoned but running not far from the security company’s offices.
The court ordered Baumgartner not to contact a number of people, including employees of the security company he worked for.
Most of the people on the no-contact list are expected to be witnesses, said chief prosecutor Steve Bilodeau.
“It’s actually a pretty routine order with important witnesses,” Bilodeau said outside court. “While he’s in remand, he can’t phone them or contact them in any way.”
Police had launched an international manhunt to find Baumgartner, who was stopped Saturday near a border crossing in Lynden, Washington, southwest of Abbotsford, British Columbia. He was carrying $330,000 in cash and no passport when he was arrested by U.S. border officials.
G4S Cash Solutions spokeswoman Robin Steinberg said the company would conduct its own investigation into the shooting. Baumgartner had only been on the job for three months.
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