Man accused of robbing OlyFed branch, and wanted for previous crimes, appears in court
A 24-year-old man accused of robbing Olympia Federal Saving bank in west Olympia is being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $55,000 bail.
Police arrested Layne Richard Smith on suspicion of first-degree robbery on Saturday. He attended his preliminary appearance hearing in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday.
Thurston County Court Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax set the bail amount in two parts. For the alleged robbery, Kortokrax set $40,000 bail. The remaining $15,000 relates to a separate case that started in November 2020.
In the older case, Smith has been charged with driving under the influence, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, first-degree criminal impersonation, reckless endangerment and hit-and-run property damage.
Smith failed to appear at his trial confirmation hearing for the older case, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest on April 30, according to court documents.
In setting the bail amounts, Kortokrax cited concerns Smith may fail to appear again, commit a violent crime or interfere in the case.
Another person allegedly robbed the same Olympia Federal Savings bank on July 30 using a similar tactic: demanding money from a bank teller with a threatening note. Police have not made an arrest for that robbery yet.
An affidavit of probable cause includes a police report that describes the alleged July 22 robbery from the perspective of law enforcement.
Around 5:23 p.m. that day, Olympia police were dispatched to a reported robbery at Olympia Federal Savings bank on Harrison Avenue Northwest, according to the report.
At the scene, a teller told police that they received a threatening note from a white man in his mid 20s who wore a black bandanna and black clothing. The teller said they believed the same man had tried to cash a fraudulent check on July 6.
“Put all the money in the bag,” the note reportedly stated. “Do not trigger any alarms. Do what I say, and no one gets hurt. No dye packs or trackers.”
A manager opened the cash register and handed the man about $4,300 in cash, per the report, and no dye packs or other theft prevention devices were included.
Olympia police called on a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit to track the man from the bank, the report says. The track led to a dumpster in a Chevron parking lot on Harrison Avenue where law enforcement found discarded black clothing, according to the report.
From there, the report says the police dog lost track of the man near the J building of Olympic Heights on Kenyon Street. This could mean the man got into a car or entered an apartment nearby, the report says.
At the bank, police took surveillance footage of the alleged robbery and later posted stills of the man on social media, the report says.
Fingerprint evidence from the scene revealed a match for Smith and all on-duty officers were notified that there was probable cause to arrest him, according to the report.
On Saturday, Olympia police officers spotted Smith riding a bicycle south on Pear Street Southeast in Olympia, per the report.
Three officers approached Smith from the north, south and east as one of them commanded him to stop, the report says. Once they were within about 12-15 feet of Smith, the report alleges he dropped his bicycle and tried to run west.
However, an officer grabbed his backpack and upper body “within seconds” of the foot pursuit and pulled him down to the ground, according to the report.
Both Smith and the officer fell on the concrete on Chestnut Street Southeast, per the report. While on the ground, the report says “several” officers assisted in getting Smith into handcuffs and he was detained “without further incident.”
Smith is due back in court on Aug. 24 for his arraignment in the robbery case.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
