Bank robbery in Regina nets man five-year prison sentence

A Regina man is headed to prison for five years in connection with a bank robbery that occurred in Regina last July.

Alex Todd Desjarlais was sentenced after a guilty plea in Regina Provincial Court on Thursday.

Court documents say he also was sentenced to 1,448 days in prison for a robbery at a Regina gas station on June 29.

Shortly after 11 a.m. on July 9, Regina police officers were called to a bank in the 1900 block of Hamilton Street. They were told a man had entered the bank with a gun, demanded money and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police got a description of the man’s getaway vehicle and, on July 10 at about 12:50 a.m., officers saw a vehicle that matched that description.

They used spike belts to deflate the vehicle’s tires, but it kept going down Rochdale Boulevard and eventually got to Highway 11. It continued on the highway until stopping in Lumsden, where two men were arrested.

In addition to the charges against Desjarlais, the other man — Brendan Hein — was charged with armed robbery using a restricted/prohibited firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and uttering threats. Hein currently is wanted on a bench warrant.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Charges against Hein were withdrawn on Feb. 8, 2023, after it was reported he had died.