Mounir Abou Daye has admitted to robbing 16 banks since 2009.
Author of the article:
Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette
Published Oct 06, 2023 • Last updated 10 hours ago • 3 minute read
A bank robber who was done in by a specially trained police dog that found his hiding place in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce following his most recent heist learned Friday that he will not be sentenced as a dangerous or long-term offender despite his criminal past.
When Mounir Abou Daye, 37, pleaded guilty earlier this year to carrying out an armed robbery at a bank on Lucerne Rd. in Town of Mount Royal two years ago, the Crown said it would seek to have the career criminal sentenced under either of the designations. Quebec Court Judge Martin Chalifour was informed in February that Abou Daye has already served two lengthy prison terms for two different series of armed robberies since 2009.
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On Friday, a Crown prosecutor informed the judge that three experts who reviewed Abou Daye’s file could find no reason to have him declared either a dangerous or long-term offender. The first designation could result in an offender being sentenced to an indefinite prison term. The other designation opens the door to letting the Parole Board of Canada impose surveillance conditions on an offender for up to 10 years after their prison sentence expires.
Chalifour agreed to set a date in the future to hear sentencing arguments.
On the morning of Aug. 6, 2021, Abou Daye walked into a Scotia Bank branch and told the six employees inside that he was armed. He never showed the gun but threatened to shoot people if they didn’t carry out his orders.
He kept his hand inside a pants pocket when he approached a counter where two employees were working and ordered them to fill his red reusable grocery bags with “big bills.”
“Don’t press the alarm or I will shoot you guys,” Abou Daye was quoting as having said when a joint statement of facts was read into the court record in February.
One of the employees managed to slip three locator devices in among the more than $8,600 that was placed inside the grocery bags.
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Minutes after Abou Daye fled from the bank, a bank employee informed the Montreal police the tracking devices placed the robber on Coolbrook Ave. in Côte-des-Neiges.
When police officers located Abou Daye’s Nissan Altima, they pursued the vehicle until it came to a stop on Hampton St. in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The robber jumped out of his Nissan and the officers pursued him on foot. Abou Daye managed to evade them by climbing a series of fences as he continued to run.
That is when Tyco was called in.
The police dog and his handler were assigned to find Abou Daye, and the canine unit eventually located him hiding behind a chair on a balcony behind a residential building on Terrebonne St.
The robber simply said “OK, OK” before he raised his hands and surrendered to three police officers. When he was handcuffed, he told the officers he was asthmatic and asked if someone could get his puffer from the Nissan he abandoned on Hampton St.
As the investigation continued, Tyco found a garbage can on Hampton St. where Abou Daye tried to hide some of the clothing he wore during the robbery.
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When Abou Daye was interrogated, he admitted he was the masked person behind the robbery. He also said he did it to pay off a loanshark he owed money to.
In the past, he has cited gambling problems as being the motive behind his previous robberies.
In 2013, Abou Daye pleaded guilty to carrying out eight armed robberies at Montreal banks within six weeks. He used a BB gun that was not loaded and got away with more than $50,000. He was sentenced to an eight-year prison term.
Five years later, in 2018, he qualified for a statutory release after reaching the two-thirds mark of his sentence without previously being granted parole. According to a decision made by the Parole Board of Canada back then, Abou Daye attributed his criminality to a gambling addiction. The parole board was informed he would spend all his money in casinos and then borrow money from loansharks.
In 2008, he was arrested as a suspect in 15 armed robberies, including seven carried out at banks. He was sentenced to a 32-month prison term. In that case as well, Abou Daye said he carried out his crimes because of a gambling addiction.
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