Newcastle bank robberies connected to series of incidents
July 8, 2013
By Christina Corrales-Toy
NEW — 3:40 p.m. July 8, 2013
King County Sheriff’s Office
Two masked men rob the Newcastle Bank of America July 1.
Detectives from the King County Sheriff’s Office, Seattle Police Department and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force are investigating a series of five armed, takeover-style bank robberies, two of which occurred in Newcastle.
In all five robberies, handguns were displayed and pointed at others, with several customers and employees present at the time.
Detectives believe that the cases are linked, though they continue to investigate the actual number of suspects involved.
The most recent incident occurred July 1 when two suspects, described as black males, robbed Newcastle’s Bank of America and ran from the scene. The suspects are still at large.
The suspects had some type of firearms, King County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jason Stanley said, describing the incident as “a takeover-style robbery.”
“They were very aggressive and really pushed people around and went away with some money,” he said.
No one was hurt during the incident, though.
The first incident in the series also occurred in Newcastle when a suspect robbed the KeyBank Jan. 16.
He was described as a 5-foot, 5-inch to 5-foot, 7-inch, 180-pound black man in his 30s or 40s.
The suspect was armed, though no shots were fired, Newcastle Police Chief Melinda Irvine said at the time.
Two of the other incidents occurred at banks in Seattle, while the third one was in Burien.
On Feb. 28, a suspect robbed the Rainier Avenue branch of KeyBank in Seattle.
In a May 22 incident, a suspect fired a gunshot inside the Rainer Avenue branch of Washington Federal Bank in Seattle.
A suspect struck a bank teller in the face, in the June 8 robbery of Burien Sterling Savings.
Police released a compilation of surveillance video from the robberies and posted it on YouTube here.
The July 1 Newcastle bank robbery was the only incident where two suspects entered the bank together.
Police also released surveillance photos of a suspect vehicle believed to have been used in the Feb. 28 KeyBank robbery. The vehicle is a blue 1983 – 1987 Mercury Marquis that is described as “very stock” in appearance.
There is a reward of up to $1,000 for any tip that leads to the arrest and charge of the person(s) involved. Tips will remain anonymous. To be eligible for the reward, a person must provide the information through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Tips can also be called in to the King County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center 206-296-3311 or 911.
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[…] two men who allegedly robbed the Newcastle Bank of America in July have been arrested, Newcastle Police Chief Melinda Irvine said in a […]