A man from Duncan is serving 18 months in jail for robbing a bank in Ladysmith earlier this year.

Michael Leighton, 23, has also been ordered to pay back nearly $5,800 to the Bank of Montreal.

RCMP Cpl. Tim Desaulniers said the conviction and sentence should be a lesson to others who think robbing a bank is an easy crime to get away with.

“With any of the financial institutions and any of those types of businesses, they have obviously better surveillance and things in place to thwart that kind of crime.”

He walked into the bank the morning of Feb. 7 and demanded money from the tellers.

Leighton then stopped to use someone's cell phone to call for a ride, according to Desaulniers.

“After he fled the bank, he was on foot and approached a gentleman that was in the neighbourhood and asked to borrow his phone. The gentleman found it a bit suspicious and called police, and we followed up.”

Desaulniers said it has been at least a few years since he's seen a similar bank robbery in Ladysmith.

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