EVERETT – Two men terrorized nearly a dozen people in their search for cash at an Everett bank.
Federal agents are asking for the public’s help finding the men who robbed a Wells Fargo bank July 18, and the bank is offering a $5,000 reward.
The two men burst into the bank and demanded cash just before 10 a.m. Seven employees and three customers were inside the small building at 1801 Broadway.
One robber jumped over the counter and forced the bank manager and a teller to unload the money in the vault, the FBI reported. The other man kept watch over the other employees and customers in the lobby.
During the robbery, the suspects yelled at the tellers while jabbing them with their semi-automatic pistols, FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs said. One robber pressed a gun against a bank employee’s forehead.
No one was hurt in the heist.
“Snohomish County every year gets some pretty violent robberies,” Burroughs said.
Bank heists have spiked here this year. The county is on its way to more than doubling the number of robberies last year and from 2003.
Through the end of last month, robbers had hit 26 Snohomish County banks, Burroughs said. Last year, there were 18 robberies – one more than the previous year.
Meanwhile, the state is on track to see an overall drop in robberies. During the first seven months of this year, 120 banks were robbed statewide. Last year, there were a total of 253 bank robberies.
“It really goes in spurts,” Burroughs said, adding that there likely isn’t one specific reason that heists in Snohomish County have gone up.
Banks along the I-5 corridor often are targeted simply for their convenient location to the freeway, Burroughs said.
Federal agents or police catch a large percentage of bank robbers, she said.
Video surveillance cameras have greatly improved. Often tips that lead to arrests come in after someone recognizes the suspect from video footage released to the media, Burroughs said.
“Frequently it’s our best tool,” she said.
The men who robbed the Wells Fargo Bank did nothing to disguise themselves or hide their faces.
One suspect is described as a 24-year-old black man about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a slim build. He was wearing long, dark shorts, a black bandana over his head, and a dark blue Detroit Lions jersey with No. 20 on the front and “Sanders” on the back.
The second suspect is described as a 25-year-old black man about 6 feet tall with a heavy build. He was wearing baggy shorts, a white T-shirt and a white bandana on his head.
Anyone with information about these men or any other bank robbery suspect is asked to call the FBI at 206-622-0460.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@ heraldnet.com.
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