Pink clue to theft of green

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2002-06-19

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Pink clue to theft of green Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Medford police Detective Terry Newell lifts fingerprints from the doors at U.S. Bank in Court Street on Friday afternoon. The bank was robbed by a man wearing a bright pink hat just before noon. By SARAH LEMON Police were hunting for a bank robber who left his neon-pink baseball cap at the scene Friday. The suspect handed the U.S. Bank teller a note that stated he was armed with a gun and wanted all the cash in her till. The teller gave him an undisclosed amount of cash, and the robber left the 1242 Court St. building on a black 10-speed mountain bike. He headed southeast, cutting through parking lots and crossing Ohio and Boardman streets. He did not display a weapon, and nobody was injured. As he pedaled away, his hat - hot-pink with a black adidas logo - flew from his head and was recovered by police. "We recovered the pink hat. There's not many of those around," Medford Police Lt. Tim George said. The suspect is a 6-foot, 180-pound white man in his mid-30s with a tan complexion, dark, collar-length hair and a full mustache. In addition to the pink hat, he was wearing a gray baseball-type jacket with blue sleeves, red piping and a circular logo on the left side of his chest. He also sported blue jeans. Would-be bank robbers often wear particularly bright or noticeable clothing so witnesses focus on the apparel rather than suspects' features, police said. "That's a nice little trick they use - wearing an unusual piece of clothing," said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. "But he thought he was being dapper, perhaps." Witnesses reported seeing the man riding his bike around the bank and in the Rogue Valley Mall area several times that morning. "He was casing the joint on his bike," George said. No one in U.S. Bank knew the crime was happening until the teller reported it around noon, Moran said. The suspect let another customer in line go before him and waited until the teller whose desk was closest to the door was free, Moran said. Police got an image of the suspect from the bank's surveillance video. Officers lifted fingerprints and wrapped up their investigation at the bank around 2 p.m. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Medford police detective Terry Newell at 774-2238 or Medford Police Department communications at 770-4783. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] .    Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.