National Post
January 23, 2015
An Edmonton man admitted Monday that he committed a carjacking and two quick bank robberies in a disguise so realistic that witnesses described him as an unmasked white man, even though he was black.
In January 2014, Solomon Zemichael Teklie carjacked a woman at Northgate Mall, robbed a bank at Londonderry Mall, robbed a second bank at 97th Street, then was pulled over and arrested by police.
The three robberies and arrest all took place within 37 minutes.
Through it all, the 39-year-old Teklie wore a disguise that fooled everyone.
“I don’t know where this mask was made, I don’t know where it came from, but it’s uncanny how much it looks like a real person,” said Crown prosecutor Carrie-Ann Downey. “It was so realistic that each witness on this file thought that Mr. Teklie was white. He is not white.”