Student suspect in robbery has VLT addiction
The former Mount Royal university student president who is alleged to have robbed a credit union last week has been granted bail.
Provincial court Judge Brian Stevenson ordered the release of Meghan Darcy Melnyk on Wednesday on either $6,000 cash or $12,000 in non-cash assets, which would be posted by her mother.
The judge also ordered Melnyk to reside with her aunt in Didsbury and report to the local RCMP once a week.
Melnyk, 27, also must abide by 24-hour house arrest, except for work, vocational training, court appearances or emergency medical issues.
She also must not attend any establishment that has video lottery terminals, must not possess or use any firearms or other weapons, and must not come within 100 metres of either the university campus or the Servus Credit Union at 5303 68th Ave. S.E.
As well, said the judge, she cannot participate in any of the 32 committees at the university to which she was still a member.
Defence lawyer Derek Lovatt said his client is a person who, up to the day of this alleged offence, was under a great amount of stress from working 12 to 14 hours a day.
“To top it off,” said Lovatt, “she has a gambling addiction and was at her wit’s end how to deal with financial obligations and to satisfy her obligations at Mount Royal University.
“This certainly is an explanation. . . . This is a person who was overworked, burned out and made a terrible decision.”
Crown prosecutor Ken Mccaffrey argued against the woman’s release, saying the Crown has a strong case on the robbery, which includes being disguised and having unauthorized possession of a weapon.
Mccaffrey noted Melnyk also has pending charges of fraud under $5,000 involving a stolen purse and forged cheque, using a forged document and breaching conditions of probation.
Court heard the credit union robber passed a note to a teller and indicated she was armed before making her getaway on Feb. 29.
She was handed $6,180 in cash, some bait bills and a dye pack. She left at 1:41 p.m.
Following the robbery, staff were able to get a licence plate on a PT Cruiser.
The police hawc helicopter picked up a vehicle at 2:17 p.m. and followed it until a woman was arrested when she parked 15 minutes later. She was alone in the car, said the prosecutor.
In the vehicle, Mccaffrey said, police found an envelope with cash and a holdup note, sunglasses similar to those used by the robber, makeup, makeup remover and a knife.
The previous robbery charges were laid shortly after Melnyk’s sudden resignation as president just over a month ago.
The students’ association released a statement Jan. 31 saying Melnyk had left a week earlier after the first of two regular periodic reviews.
The review “identified several potential anomalies and policy-compliance issues for which council was unable to receive a satisfactory explanation within a reasonable time frame,” according to the release.
Melnyk will be back in court March 16.