Suspected Central Point bank robber captured in Las Vegas – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2022-01-31

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Suspected Central Point bank robber captured in Las Vegas By Nick Morgan Updated: Jan 31, 2022 09:28 AM A A Owing to the collaborative efforts of police in three states, a man suspected of robbing banks in Southern Oregon and northern California is now behind bars in Nevada. Thomas James West, 52, was arrested Friday night in Las Vegas on a fugitive warrant accusing him of a series of bank robberies that started in Central Point, and went on to target others in Yuba City, California and Redding, California, according to a Redding police post on social media Saturday. The spree allegedly began at 3:47 p.m. Jan. 11, when a suspect allegedly passed a note to a teller demanding money at the People’s Bank at 1017 E. Pine St. in Central Point, according to Redding police and an earlier news report. At 2:25 p.m. Jan. 19, the same suspect demanded money from a teller at a Sierra Central Credit Union branch in Redding. The following day, the suspect robbed a bank in Yuba City. A common thread in the three robberies was the getaway vehicle: a blue Toyota Yaris hatchback. On Friday, Central Point police relayed Oregon State Police information to Redding police that linked West to the Toyota, even though he wasn’t the getaway car’s registered owner. Redding detectives learned that the Toyota hatchback was spotted in Las Vegas. They quickly secured a warrant, and worked with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s fugitive apprehension unit to find West. “The team located and arrested Thomas West with the getaway vehicle in less than three hours,” the Redding police Facebook post states. As of Monday morning, West is held without bail on the California fugitive warrant in the Clark County, Nevada Detention Center.