ARLINGTON — The petite, young woman beamed at the bank teller. She flashed a sweet smile. She also demanded money.
It was a robbery.
Police here Tuesday released surveillance photos of a young woman they said held up KeyBank just before 1:30 p.m.
The robber was described as white, 18 to 22 years old, about 5 feet, 3 inches tall with a petite build. She was wearing a white, hooded sweatshirt and a dark-brown jacket. She was seen leaving in a light-colored 2001 GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle with a Washington state license plate 046 RGH.
It’s highly unusual for a young woman to be involved in a bank heist, FBI special agent Robbie Burroughs said.
Last year in Washington, only 2 percent, or about two bank robberies, were committed by women, she said, adding that when a woman is involved in robbing a bank, there’s often a man waiting outside.
“(The men) don’t want to go in because they’re either a previously convicted bank robber or there’s some reason they don’t want their face out there,” she said.
It’s even less common for a teenager to be involved, the federal agent said.
“The combination of a teenager and female is… We just don’t see it,” she said.
The FBI is assisting in the Arlington investigation.
This is the second time in less than a month the same KeyBank branch in Arlington was robbed. The last time was Dec. 16. Police arrested a 20-year-old Arlington man the next day.
That was the first bank robbery in the city in more than a year, city spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said. “They are pretty rare.”
This isn’t the first young woman or young person to attract attention by robbing a Snohomish County bank.
Federal officials believe Morgan Michelle Hoke, 21, dubbed the “Pony Tail Bandit,” held up the First Heritage Bank in Lynnwood in May 2007.
She was arrested at a Bangkok hotel by Royal Thai Police on a tip from the FBI. Officials believe she worked with her husband.
In October 2007 a 17-year-old from Marysville wore a Halloween mask from the horror film “Saw,” when he allegedly held up a Wells Fargo branch. Police believe the boy used a pellet gun to order patrons to the ground.
The woman in Tuesday’s robbery displayed no weapons, Banfield said.
Police were asking anyone who can help identify the robber to call 911.
If the suspect in Tuesday’s robbery is a juvenile, that could present a challenge for prosecutors, Burroughs said. While adults accused of bank robberies can be tried in federal courts, juveniles cannot.
Still, a majority of bank robbers stand trial in state courts, Burroughs said.
Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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