EVERETT — He showed up at the bank prepared.
Fake beard. Dark glasses. Gloves. A note demanding cash and detailing the awful consequences if he was rebuffed.
But there reportedly was more to Richard Evan Kriger’s Dec. 13 visit to the Banner Bank on Colby Avenue.
He claimed he was there to prevent a crime, not commit one, according to documents filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court.
As the bank’s customer service manager would later tell police, Kriger reportedly insisted a troubled family member was outside with a police scanner and a high-powered rifle. If Kriger didn’t come out with the money, or somebody triggered the silent alarm, the gunman would open fire.
The manager hit the alarm anyway. Kriger, 60, of Everett surrendered when police converged on the scene. He is now charged with attempted first-degree robbery.
Everett police detectives learned that Kriger is a civil attorney who in late 2016 completed a two-year suspension for mismanaging a trust account involving his son. The defendant still owes the man about $50,000, roughly the amount that was demanded in the robbery, prosecutors said in court papers.
After his arrest, Kriger reportedly spoke with a detective. The lawyer “reiterated that he did not have a weapon on him and did not personally threaten anybody” at the bank, prosecutors wrote.
The defendant reportedly described his attempts to reassure the bank manager, that he was a “savior,” not a violent person and “was only there to prevent a murderous situation,” court papers said.
“Kriger was asked if things were in fact as he claimed, then why would he be wearing a disguise into the bank and not call the police himself. Kriger did not have an explanation as to either,” says the probable cause affidavit filed in support of the attempted robbery charge.
Prosecutors also filed the single-page, type-written note that was found on the bank manager’s desk. Its 13 paragraphs spell out the robber’s expectations for the loot ($50 and $100 bills, no GPS trackers or dye packs), demands the keys to the bank manager’s vehicle (guaranteed to be wrapped around a tree if a dye pack explodes) and offers detailed instructions on when and how to report the holdup.
“Count to 500 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi etc. etc. etc. before you call police,” it read.
On Tuesday, Kriger was locked up at the county jail, his bail set at $25,000.
Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.
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