Canadian murder, robbery suspect caught at border
Jun 17, 2012, 11:11 AM | Updated: 11:27 am
Travis Baumgartner is taken out of a van by Canadian Border Services officers at the Aldergrove, British Columbia border crossing, Saturday, June 16, 2012. Baumgartner was stopped by customs at the United States border as he tried to enter the U.S. Baumgartner is wanted in a deadly armored car heist at a university in western Canada that left three armed guards dead, Friday. (AP Photo/Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press)
(AP Photo/Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press)
Travis Baumgartner, the man wanted in the recent murders of three armored car guards in Alberta, Canada, has been captured while trying cross the U.S. border.
Baumgartner had been on the run since Friday June 15. U.S. Border Patrol officials apprehended him when he tried to cross into Washington from Canada at Lynden.
“We are very adept at sharing information to apprehend wanted fugitives to secure not only our borders, but to secure our communities as well,” said Mike Milne with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Baumgartner, twenty-one, worked for G4S Cash Solutions. He is accused of killing his fellow guards as they were reloading bank machines at the University of Alberta shopping center.
Co-workers Eddie Rejano, Brian Ilesic, and Michelle Shegelski were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The armored car the victims had been driving was found abandoned near G4S Cash Solutions offices. Baumgartner was taken into custody with $334,000 in Canadian currency, but was not carrying any weapons.
Baumgartner is scheduled to be returned to Edmonton officials within days and faces three counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
“We’re grateful to the border officials at Lynden, Washington, for their excellent work in arresting a man we believe was armed and extremely dangerous,” Edmonton Police Superintendent Bob Hassel said in a statement.
G4S Cash Solutions has stated that it will also conduct an investigation into the murders. Spokeswoman Robin Steinberg stated in a press release that Baumgartner had worked for the company for just three months.
“We applaud the dedication of the Edmonton Police Service, and other law enforcement agencies in apprehending Travis Baumgartner today,” Steinberg said in a statement. “Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims and also with the Baumgartner family.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
