Kootenay crime spree getaway driver sentenced in Nelson

A high profilearmed robbery trial has finally ended in Nelson with the driver of the getaway car receiving afour-and-a-half-year prison sentence.

Krista Kalmikoff, 28, was found to be an accomplice in a long running West Kootenay crime spree that put the whole region on edge in the spring of 2014.

Kalmikoff'sshotgun-wieldingboyfriendAndrew Stevenson robbed six banks and stores,oftenterrorizing employeesand customers. Hewas sentenced to tenyears in prison last year.

Kalmikoff's lawyer argued that his client was an unwittingparticipant who didn't know Stevenson was robbing banks while she waited in the car.

But the judge said the fact that she behaved in a passive and compliant manner contributed to her involvement.

"To show that the getaway driver is going to be held very much accountable sends a very good messageto thecommunityin my view," said Crown lawyer Sunday Patola.

Kalmikoff and Stevenson were finallycaught after leading police on a high speed chase around Nelson in the aftermath of stealingtens of thousands of dollars from a downtown credit union.

Kalmikoff apologized to the court before being led away in shackles.

With files from Bob Keating