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Convicted murderer captured on roof of Langley home

Shawn Merrick escaped prison on March 31. After a string of bank robberies he was arrested in Murrayville on May 13.
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Convicted murderer Shawn Merrick escaped from a minimum security prison earlier this year. He is now suspected of attempting to rob two banks in Surrey.

Convicted murderer Shawn Merrick was arrested hiding on the roof of a home in Murrayville Wednesday night.

RCMP say Merrick, who escaped minimum security prison on March 31, had been on the lam ever since, was arrested without incident in the 21900 block of 44A Avenue at 11 p.m.

He was captured in a co-ordinated efforts between Langley RCMP, Surrey RCMP, Emergency Response Team, Integrated Police Dog Services and Air 1 were instrumental in the safe apprehension of this wanted man.  Tips from the public also helped lead police to locating Merrick, said Surrey RCMP Insp. Manny Mann.

He has been transported back to prison to finish serving his sentence and has been charged with six new counts of robbery.

As a fugitive, Merrick managed to rob six banks, four of them in Langley. The most recent bank robbery was on May 4 in Aldergrove.

Surrey and Langley RCMP are now sifting through a significant number of tips received from the public, said Mann.  The viable tips will be provided to The Canadian Bankers Association, who had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Merrick.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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