Puget Sound cops band together to hunt serial bank robbers

Cops across the south Puget Sound are teaming up to take on a new foe plaguing banks throughout the region.

“They are getting money by doing this, and they are continuing to do it, and they’ve hit five banks in the last two weeks,” Detective Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office told KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz.

“They are going to continue to do bank robberies to feed whatever it is they need the money for,” he said.

“It’s rare that we have this type of bank robbery,” Troyer said, noting that such robberies are committed by lone robbers, usually with a drug addiction, and they are fairly docile.

But these bank robbers are different.

“They all have backpacks, they are masked up, they are all brandishing weapons and screaming at the patrons in the bank and the employees,” Troyer said. “That is something you see on TV or in the movies, and rarely do you see it in real life.”

So far, the robbers have hit five banks: Umpqua Bank in Tacoma on Dec. 21; Columbia Bank in Tacoma on Dec. 23; Key Bank in Tacoma on Dec. 23; Umpqua Bank in Puyallup on Dec. 28; and Wells Fargo Bank in University Place on Dec. 29. The string of bank robberies have brought together multiple agencies to track the thieves down. Troyer believes it will take considerable resources to bring them to justice.

Troyer said detectives believe all suspects are white males in their early to mid-20s, between 5’6″ and 5’10” tall. He also noted that they tend to wear nicer clothing, and carry backpacks or messenger-style bags.

“It’s at least two people inside, and possibly one person outside, and they are all armed,” Troyer said. “That makes this extremely dangerous because they have a gang mentality. They are loud, they are coming in and taking over, and they are all armed.”

Troyer said that if a person finds themselves amid such a takeover robbery, they should obey all orders and not “try to be a hero.”

If anyone recognizes the suspects, the clothing they wear or has any other information, they are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. A $1,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to an arrest and charges. Callers will remain anonymous.