Eugene police investigate credit union robbery
EUGENE, Ore. -- A masked man claiming to be armed with an explosive device robbed the Oregon Community Credit Union branch on East 11th Avenue Monday morning.
The man walked up to the drive thru teller and demanded money, according to Eugene police, then threatened to detonate the explosives. The man fled on foot, leaving some bills behind.
Police say there are "striking similarities" between this credit union robbery and three others committed by one suspect. In those robberies, a masked man who threatened he had a bomb robbed Eugene banks in August, September and November. Investigators have not determined if Monday's robbery was committed by the same man.
This is the 24th bank or business robbed in Eugene since the start of September. Two robberies ago when the toll stood at 22, police compared the calendar to 2007. The toll for the same time period last year: just 8 aggressive robberies of banks or businesses.
Eugene Police Capt. Chuck Tilby says bank and business robberies are more likely to be solved, partly because of surveillance video.
"Particulary bank robberies. Most of those get solved. Takes a while," he said.
The better the picture, the easier it is to identify the suspect. But even lower quality photos can help.
"Oftentimes it may not be a picture of a suspect's face, but it might be a picture of a piece of jewelry, a piece of clothing that strike's somebody's recognition," said Tilby.
The suspect in the credit union robbery is described as a white male in his 20s, around 6 feet tall. He was wearing a mask, a hooded dark blue sweat shirt and jeans.
