MONROE, Wash. - A brazen bank robbery suspect maced the guard of an armored truck before making his escape in an inner tube on the Skykomish River.
But he had placed a Craigslist ad as a diversion and people used to pull off the crime didn't even know they were part of it until it was too late.
"He was wearing a dust mask, a particle mask. At first I thought it might be a surgical mask. I still didn't think anything was wrong, just unusual. Then I noticed he had a pump sprayer," said Mitch Ruth, who had looked out his office window and noticed the man walking into the Bank of America at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
The robber, who carried the bag of money as he raced out of the bank, sprayed the guard and ran about 100 yards to the creek that runs into the Skykomish River, shedding clothes as he ran.
One witness said the swam away, but another said he used an inner tube to get away.
"We did get an inner tube that was about 200 yards from the place where he entered the water and took that for evidence," said Debbie Willis, Monroe Police.
Investigators believe accomplices could have picked the robber up at a nearby boat launch or park.
But apparently, the robber had planned ahead. In case anyone was hot on his trail, he had at least a dozen unsuspecting decoys waiting nearby.
"I came across the ad that was for a prevailing wage job for $28.50 an hour," said Mike, who saw a Craigslist ad last week looking for workers for a road maintenance project in Monroe.
He said he inquired and was e-mailed back with instructions to meet near the Bank of America in Monroe at 11 a.m. Tuesday. He also was told to wear certain work clothing.
"Yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask… and, if possible, a blue shirt," he said.
Mike showed up along with about a dozen other men dressed like him, but there was no contractor and no road work to be done. He thought they had been stood up until he heard about the bank robbery and the suspect who wore the same attire.
Police say they now have the Craigslist information and they are trying to piece it all together to find the suspect.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10, wearing a dark blue shirt, jean shorts and a mask.
That's a pretty good damn job, Id almost say he deserves the money for getting that scheme to work in the short term at least.
Master Tailor Toprem Spaztastic, level 75 Drizzlecaller of Karana. Member of Clan Ta Veren
Tell /b/ you're doing a super nigra lulz action against bank Y because it's run by scientologist. 50 dorks show up in black clothing and Guy Fawkes mask. Run in, get cash, hide/escape in geek crowd. Post about the lulz later.
Was he smart enough to post the craiglist add from a computer that wont be trackable to him ? Cause if he posted it from his grandma's place, this may be a short manhunt.
******************************
Dluin was here.....
That is funny. On a side note all you have to do to sucker some poor fools in Washington is post an ad for a job? Wait till some teens figure this out.
Why? They're putting themselves and others in danger, regardless of whether they're armed with a gun or pepper spray. The guards who are forced to react have guns. Do you think all banks are evil and deserve to be robbed?
I can understand where Trolo is coming from. To me there is a difference in stealing from a corporate entity than there is stealing from an individual. Corporations are faceless, rich, and insured to the gills. Or maybe I've just read too many Stainless Steel Rat novels.
I love the line, "“Everyone in this goddamned store is wearing a blue shirt and nobody knows a thing!” So true, I feel the same way when I walk into a Best Buy.
Meddik, if you were actually brave enough to break into my home, I'd give you my address lickity split. Somehow, though, I doubt it.
It's not like burglary is easy. If that guy is willing to risk getting shot and killed by a guard or a police officer or thrown in jail for a long time because he's desperate enough to rob a bank, I'm on his side. He obviously needs the money more than they do. Additionally, he didn't kill or maim anyone--sucks that the security guard got maced, but when you get a security job, you kind of sign up for that sort of thing.
If that guy is willing to risk getting shot and killed by a guard or a police officer or thrown in jail for a long time because he's desperate enough to rob a bank, I'm on his side. He obviously needs the money more than they do. Additionally, he didn't kill or maim anyone--sucks that the security guard got maced, but when you get a security job, you kind of sign up for that sort of thing.
Meddik, if you were actually brave enough to break into my home, I'd give you my address lickity split. Somehow, though, I doubt it.
It's not like burglary is easy. If that guy is willing to risk getting shot and killed by a guard or a police officer or thrown in jail for a long time because he's desperate enough to rob a bank, I'm on his side. He obviously needs the money more than they do. Additionally, he didn't kill or maim anyone--sucks that the security guard got maced, but when you get a security job, you kind of sign up for that sort of thing.
So it's okay to risk others getting hurt as well? I mean, stray bullets do happen when guards pull out guns. Man, by this logic, date rape is okay, as long as the victim isn't hurt and the rapist needs to get laid bad enough.
