Police arrest `Under Armour' suspect

Police have arrested the man they believe to be the "Under Armour bandit" responsible for 17 bank robberies throughout southern Ontario over the past year, including one in Acton. The suspect was dubbed the "Under Armour bandit" because of the clothing logo seen on the cap he was wearing during several robberies that spanned from Aug. 29 2006 through Jan. 6 of this year. Joseph Vrbanac, 34, of Kitchener was arrested by Peel Police at 6 a.m. Friday and is facing numerous counts of robbery. He was held for a bail hearing. Halton Regional Police, along with a number of other police services, worked together to identify the suspect in the robberies. At a press conference hosted by Halton Police Friday morning, the arrest of the suspect was attributed to the "great working relationship between all of the police services involved in this investigation," said Peel Regional Police Detective Sgt. Bruce Chapman. At the press conference Halton Police intended to announce a $10,000 reward from the Canadian Banker's Association for information leading to the arrest of the man responsible for the robberies, but instead, news of the arrest was released. The Acton robbery occurred Dec. 27 at the Mill St. E. Scotiabank. A lone man entered the bank at 12:35 p.m., told the teller he had a gun, and demanded cash. After the teller turned over some cash the man fled and was last seen heading towards Church St. Halton Police believed that robbery was the work of the "Under Armour bandit" because of the description of the suspect and the similarity between the method used to rob that bank to others attributed to the suspect. Police have also linked the suspect to two robberies in Milton (August 29 and Dec. 19, 2006) and one each in Oakville (Dec. 5) and Burlington (Nov. 10).