A man who robbed two banks in Bournemouth armed with an imitation firearm has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of six years and two months.
Jason Ryan Mark Jarvis, aged 49 and of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday 2 June 2021 after admitting two charges of robbery, two counts of having an imitation firearm with intent and attempted theft.
At around 3pm on Friday 13 December 2019 Jarvis entered Barclays Bank in Christchurch Road and approached a cashier, who was working behind a protective screen.
He had his coat pulled up across his mouth and nose and his hood was up. The defendant put a piece of paper in front of the cashier. She only read the first part, which stated ‘This is an Armed’.
Jarvis took something out of his pocket that looked like a gun and demanded money from the till. As the cashier went to press an alarm he told her not to.
She gave the defendant a smoke and dye pack, which consisted of a metal dye packed with two £20 notes around it and was designed to look like a £1,000 bundle. She also handed over some more £20 notes as she did not want the fake bundle to be obvious. Jarvis took the notes and left.
At around 2.10pm on Wednesday 18 December 2019 Jarvis walked into the TSB branch in Old Christchurch Road wearing sunglasses and a scarf.
He walked up to the counter and put a piece of paper on the desk with a note stating it was an armed robbery and he had a gun. The cashier asked Jarvis if he was serious and the defendant grabbed one of his female colleagues by the shoulder before putting her in a headlock.
He then pulled a gun-shaped item wrapped in black electrical tape out of his pocket and demanded the cashier hand over money. Jarvis left with cash totalling £590.
Later that day police were advised by staff at the Mary Shelley pub in Boscombe that a man had been seen disposing of items including clothing in a bin in the men’s toilets. The items were recovered and found to be a pair of sunglasses, a jacket and an imitation firearm.
Jarvis’ DNA was found on the handle of the imitation firearm and also on the demand note that was recovered from TSB. He was arrested on Thursday 19 December 2019.
Jarvis also admitted an offence of attempted theft relating to an attempt to steal a charity tin from a Post Office depot in Poole Lane in Winton on Friday 13 December 2019.
Detective Constable Holly Sexton, of Bournemouth CID, said: “The staff at these banks were just carrying out their jobs when they were faced with the horrifying ordeal of Jason Jarvis making demands for cash and claiming to be armed with a gun.
“I am glad that through our investigation work we were quickly able to identify Jarvis as the man responsible for these nasty offences so he could face the consequences of his actions.”
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