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CRIME Social media helped track down AmericanWest Bank robber, Medford police say Social media helped track down suspect, Medford police say Comment By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 3, 2015 at 10:21 AM Updated Apr 3, 2015 at 11:55 PM By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 3, 2015 at 10:21 AM Updated Apr 3, 2015 at 11:55 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Man wearing KISS-style wig robs AmericanWest » Social News Tips from social media helped Medford police track down a man they believe robbed three banks over the past 11 months and kept "crude" homemade explosives and a sawed-off shotgun in his home. Jeffrey Edward Ownby, 28, was arrested by Medford SWAT and plainclothes detectives Thursday at his house at 2306 Spring St. "He was surprised," Deputy Chief Brett Johnson said during a press conference Friday morning. The social media tips and high-quality surveillance video helped investigators identify Ownby, whom police suspect robbed the AmericanWest Bank at 3369 Crater Lake Highway late Wednesday afternoon. Surveillance photos and video from the bank were widely shared after police posted them on Facebook and provided them to media outlets. Ownby allegedly had been spotted two days before the robbery sitting in a black panel van parked on Dearborn Lane in a neighborhood east of AmericanWest Bank where the robber fled Wednesday. A caller reported Ownby as suspicious, but he had left by the time police arrived, Johnson said. Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Ownby is suspected of entering the AmericanWest Bank wearing a "KISS-style" wig and carrying a sawed-off shotgun. Surveillance footage shows the robber menacing a teller with a shotgun while demanding money. The teller shoved cash into an open backpack the robber had set on the counter while he paced back and forth with the firearm. The clarity of the surveillance video, which was posted to social media along with photos, was key in helping police identify Ownby as a suspect, Johnson said. "This case was made all due to the high-quality of the video at that last bank," said Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau. "(It) was good enough to where you could see details." Plainclothes detectives and SWAT members converged on Ownby's home and monitored it until 11 a.m. Thursday, when Ownby stepped outside and was arrested. He was lodged on robbery, theft and weapons charges after being interviewed, police said. Investigators also tied Ownby to a Dec. 22, 2014 robbery at Washington Federal and a May 16, 2014 heist at Bank of the Cascades. Police said he has been cooperative thus far in the investigation.  Police obtained a search warrant for his house and found several pieces of clothing seen in past surveillance videos, along with some wigs. Police also found two apparently homemade bombs, made with water bottles filled with gasoline connected to road flares with zip ties. "Very crude, very primitive, very dangerous," Johnson said. The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad responded to Ownby's apartment to handle the explosives. It's not yet known what the explosives were to be used for, if anything. Police said Ownby has no criminal history, something that's rare given the severity of the three robberies he's accused of committing. "I don't think it is unheard of, but generally there's some type of a background," Johnson said. Ownby is being held in the Jackson County Jail on three counts of first- and second-degree robbery, three counts of first-degree theft, two counts of manufacture and possession of a destructive device and possession of a prohibited firearm. He was arraigned on the charges in Jackson County Circuit Court Friday and remains in jail on $3 million bail, according to court records. First- and second-degree robbery are Measure 11 charges, with mandatory minimum sentences of 90 and 70 months, respectively, upon conviction. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 3, 2015 at 10:21 AM Updated Apr 3, 2015 at 11:55 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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