Ontario bank robbed
By Andy Gates - Argus Observer
Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:31 AM PDT
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| Crime scene tape is stretched across the front entrance of Washington Mutual Bank in Ontario Wednesday afternoon. Police are searching for a middle-aged man who they say robbed the bank at about 1:46 p.m. The individual wanted in connection to the case apparently fled the scene on foot and ran toward Ontario Middle School after the incident. |
ONTARIO - Ontario police are searching for a toothless, middle-aged man who they say robbed the Ontario branch of the Washington Mutual Bank across the street from the police station Wednesday around 1:46 p.m.
Police have not identified the alleged robber, but he was captured on video surveillance inside the bank, and those images have been distributed to news and police agencies throughout the Treasure Valley, Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said.
The robbery at 319 S.W. Fourth Ave., occurred within 30 seconds, Alexander said.
A man entered the bank and waited in line for a teller before handing the bank employee a note demanding cash.
The man then left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, along with his note, Alexander said. The man remains at large.
No weapon was displayed in the incident, Alexander said.
The toothless suspect is described as smelling like cigarette smoke, with several days of facial hair growth, wearing a blue zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, blue jeans and a baseball cap. The cap had green camouflage in the front and dark mesh material in the back, Alexander said.
After the suspect fled the bank, a teller punched an alarm button and called police, Alexander said.
Police notified the Ontario School District of the incident because Ontario Middle School is situated within blocks of the bank, Alexander said, and OMS was locked down until school concluded (see story on Page 1).
Ontario resident Rocky Stramel, 55, said he was doing business in the bank Wednesday and the robbery was over before he knew it.
“It all transpired within four or five feet of me and I had no idea it was going on,” Stramel said.
Stramel, who said he is the principal of Treasure Valley Christian School, said he did not get a very good look at the robber.
“I could never pick him out of a lineup,” he said.
Stramel said, though, that the man was a “shifty- looking character.”
“I knew it was genuine. I knew it was for real,” he said. It was the first robbery Stramel had ever been close to, he said.
“I’m thankful nobody was hurt. Money can be replaced,” Stramel said.
Stramel said he learned a robbery had occurred when he heard the bank employee tell her manager they had been robbed; however, by then, the suspect was already gone.
“I sure felt sorry for the bank teller. She had to handle it all herself,” Stramel said. Stramel said he does not know how much money the robber may have seized.
The last bank robbery in Ontario occurred Dec. 19, 2005, at Bank of America, Alexander said, and a suspect in that case, Ramon Reyes, was arrested and sentenced to federal prison time.
A burglary at Continental Loans in Ontario was reported Tuesday around 9 a.m., Alexander said, and though no details are available, property was allegedly taken from the business.
It is not known if there could be a connection between the burglary and Wednesday’s robbery, Alexander said.
Ontario police are being assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oregon State Police and the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation, Alexander said.
Anyone with information on the robbery is encouraged to contact Ontario Police at (541) 889-5312.
