Tacoma man accused of robbing $400 from Olympia KeyBank pleads not guilty
A 24-year-old Tacoma man accused of running off with $400 from a KeyBank on Martin Way pleaded not guilty to first-degree robbery on Tuesday.
Olympia police arrested Leon Andrae Wilcox on March 10, a day after the alleged robbery occurred. Since then, he has been held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $35,000 bail. Nobody at the bank was physically harmed.
Superior Court Commissioner Nate Kortokrax set the bail amount on March 11, citing a substantial danger Wilcox may commit a violent crime or fail to appear in court. The court also barred Wilcox from contacting KeyBank or the bank teller he is accused of threatening.
A probable cause statement describes law enforcement’s investigation into the March 9 incident:
Olympia police allege Wilcox walked into the bank at 1:18 p.m. and handed a note to a teller that read, “Keep calm I am Armed!! 20 Sec to give me all monies in the Drawer! Return Note! No dye packs! No bait packs.”
The teller handed over $400, including $80 of bait money in $20 denominations, according to the statement. Banks record the serial numbers on bait bills so law enforcement can identify stolen bills.
Police allege Wilcox then ran from the bank toward the 3000 block of Griffin Lane Southeast. A Thurston County Sheriff K9 unit led law enforcement to that area but the trail went cold, the statement read.
Surveillance footage of the area led detectives to believe Wilcox fled in car that was not registered to him, according to the statement. After noting the car’s license plate, detectives interviewed the owner’s parents who reportedly identified the driver.
The parents then called the owner of the car. Shortly after, Wilcox contacted detectives and they arranged to meet at the Southcenter Mall, the statement read.
At the mall, detectives arrested Wilcox who was driving the car seen in the surveillance footage.
Detectives searched the car but did not locate the stolen cash, according to the statement. Wilcox allegedly told detectives he had already gotten “rid of it all.”
Pretrial services identified Wilcox as a veteran with no known criminal convictions. By pleading not guilty, Wilcox’s case will go to trial unless changes his plea before the trial date.
The court scheduled his trial confirmation date for May 6 with a possible trial date set of May 17.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 10:49 AM.
