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Ashland robbery suspect conducts Western swing, cops say By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings Police are waiting for the next move of the serial bank robber who may have hit as many as six banks in the past two months, crossing state lines twice in the process. Should the suspect hit another bank in Oregon, according to Ashland Police Department Det. Brent Jensen, then the bank robber some have nicknamed "Quasimodo" may well be based in Oregon. After a geographic analysis of the various bank heists, Jensen said Ashland is the epicenter of the suspect's activity. "I've mapped his activities, and we're right in the center of it all. If the next one's in Oregon, then he's probably based in Oregon. If not, he could just as easily be from Southern California, and this is his vacation," Jensen said. That view was corroborated by Stockton Police Department's Det. Eduardo Rodriguez, a homicide detective who is assisting in solving the most recent robbery - executed on Jan. 10. "From our perspective, it looks like someone in Oregon. Most of our bank robbers are from the Bay Area. Why this guy picked Stockton, I don't know. I could only speculate on what ties he has to Stockton," Rodriguez said. "We thought he might have been a local guy, and it wasn't until we got a phone call from a detective in Red Bluff that we realized this guy's all over the place." The suspect may have begun his spree of unarmed bank robberies in Ashland, and thus far Ashland police have yet to cite an earlier instance. The robber was caught on video demanding money at the local branch of Washington Mutual Bank - but has yet to be caught in person. Most recently, on Jan. 10, a suspect "tentatively identified" as the same suspect who robbed Washington Mutual was again caught on tape in Stockton, Calif. Police say they have reason to believe that the same suspect also robbed banks in Medford on Nov. 26, another in Bend on Dec. 11, before leaving the state to rob a bank in Red Bluff on Dec. 23. On Dec. 30, the same suspect is believed to have hit a bank in Depoe Bay before again crossing state lines to hit the branch of a local credit union in Stockton. Portland's FBI spokesperson Beth Anne Steele said the bureau is continuing to investigate the string of bank robberies. "Serial bank robberies aren't that unusual because often a suspect will commit multiple robberies before we're able to catch him," Steele said. Police and FBI investigators did get a break in the most recent robbery in Stockton, when a quick-thinking teller managed to slip an explosive dye pack in with his take from the till. According to Rodriguez, the dye pack was also loaded with tear gas, and the resulting burst not only burned a hole in a bundle of money, but also drew attention to the suspect as he fled the credit union. The smoking bag and the discarded bundle of money caught one eyewitness' attention, who later reported that they saw the suspect enter an older model blue Jeep, possibly a Cherokee, driven by a Caucasian female with long blonde hair. After entering the vehicle, the suspect and the driver then made their escape. According to Terry Fernandez, Premier Community Credit Union's Assistant Vice President for member services, the teargas and dye bomb is a standard part of the credit union's defense against bank robbers. The credit union has suffered six robberies at various branches in recent months. "We have gotten to the point where we're really mad. We've had two takeover robberies at different locations, where someone comes in and scares the hell out of everyone. We're tired of it," Fernandez said. "As robberies go, this one was fairly decent. No one got hurt, and no one got shaken up. But the clerk had the presence of mind to get the dye pack in there, and we hope that helps the police get this guy." According to Jensen, the so-called Quasimodo has managed to make off with "better than average" amounts of cash at each robbery, meaning $1,000 or more. Banks are restricted from revealing specific amounts. Fernandez corroborated that the suspect had managed to take in a grand or better at her credit union, but declined to elaborate further. Jensen said he has no reason to believe the suspect's activities are linked in any way to the two other recent bank robberies in Ashland, despite the remarkable coincidence of an armed bank robber entering the local branch of Klamath First Federal just a few hours after the first suspect had escaped with his cash from Washington Mutual. In the Klamath First robbery, the suspect wore a full-face helmet and brandished a pistol. A few weeks later, a second robbery occurred at the local branch of US Bank. Again, the robber was armed, and wore a full-face helmet. That robbery led to a massive manhunt in the forests of the Ashland Watershed. Police managed to find a dirt bike they believe to be the escape vehicle, but little else. Now Ashland Police have released another description, based on the apparent connection between the series of robberies in Oregon and California: The man is described as a white male in his 30s, possibly of Hispanic or Native American ethnicity, with brown eyes, 5 foot 10 to 6 feet in height, and weighing in at 150 to 170 pounds. At robberies in Ashland, Bend and Stockton, he has appeared wearing a gray to dark gray hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans, white athletic shoes with black trim, and wears a gold wedding band on his left hand. He frequently clips black-framed sunglasses to the front of his sweatshirt to complete the ensemble. Those with information about the various robberies, or seeing someone matching the description are urged to contact Det. Brent Jensen of the Ashland Police Department at 482-5211. Local FBI, as well as the investigation divisions of police departments in Medford, Bend, Red Bluff, Stockton, and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department are also seeking information, eyewitness accounts, or possible sightings. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -