Tracking device leads police to suspect in bank robbery

JEREMY PAWLOSKI

Olympia police detained a bank robbery suspect Tuesday afternoon after a teller gave a tracking device, along with money, to a man who entered the South Sound Bank on the 2000 block of Harrison Avenue. The man implied he had a firearm and demanded cash.

The robbery occurred about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Olympia Police Sgt. Aaron Jelcick said. The man, a white male estimated to be 30 to 40 years old, entered the bank, demanded money and fled, Jelcick said.

No one was hurt during the robbery, he said.

Olympia police traced the device to a residence in the 300 block of Milroy Street Southwest on Olympia’s west side, Jelcick said.

Police with guns drawn surrounded a duplex at about 4 p.m. They entered the residence after several tense minutes and detained the man as onlookers crowded Harrison Avenue to watch.

No one else was inside the home, Jelcick said. The man detained by police lives at the residence, he said.

“We believe we are at the location where the suspect ended up,” he said. “We’re fairly certain that we have our suspect.”

Jelcick said police do not believe anyone else was involved in the bank robbery.

The Milroy Street home where the suspect was detained is a few blocks away from where the robbery occurred.

Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445 jpawloski@theolympian.com