The Petit Poucet robber gets 5 and a half years

A somewhat messy bank robber who had been compared to Tom Thumb because of the traces left during his escape was finally sentenced to 5 and a half years in prison.

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“The accused is a hard drug user, he does not remember what he did,” said judge Josée Bélanger before sentencing Nikitos Keramarios on Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.

Head bowed, seated in the accused’s box, Keramarios, 58, did not say a word during the hearing during which the magistrate reminded him of his not very well executed crime in December 2020.

At the time, he had taken it into his head to hold up a Desjardins branch in Little Italy in order to pay for drugs. But even if he had planned his crime to a certain extent, everything did not go as planned.

“Like Petit Poucet, he left traces throughout his career, as will be shown by extracts from certain surveillance cameras”, had described the judge, summarizing the theory of the Crown prosecutor, Philippe Vallières-Roland, when she had convicted him of robbery, threats and assault.

By taxi

To get to the bank, Keramarios had taken a taxi. Before getting off, he had asked the driver to wait for him. Masked and pretending to have a weapon in his coat, he then demanded the contents of the cash register, and especially “big tickets”.

After collecting $5,900 in loot and not knowing that several tickets were “marked”, he left with the same taxi asking the driver to rush off.

Soon after, he continued his escape on foot, paying the driver $100 for his silence. The latter took the money, before calling the police.

Not discreet

But Keramarios’ mistakes didn’t stop there. Because rather than hide the money, he chose to deposit it… in his own bank account. The height: he exhibited his loot, before arguing with a client. By threatening the latter, he cut his finger.

He was arrested a few hours later at his home, thanks to the traces left throughout his adventure.

Given the preventive detention, he has 41 months left to serve.

Keramarios, who has a long criminal record, said he would try to get back on track.