Halloween is over, but scary mask used in bank robbery anyway
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
November 3, 2009
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Someone forgot to tell a Montgomery County bank robber that Halloween is over.
A man wearing a black and white skeleton mask and armed with a handgun robbed a SunTrust Bank at 8510 Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase Monday morning, police said.
It was the fourth time in recent weeks that bank robbers in the Washington region hid behind Halloween-style masks to hide their identities. The other robberies occurred in Northern Virginia, where authorities say two men are responsible for knocking off two Wachovia Banks -- one in Burke, one in Alexandria. A third man is believed to have operated on his own in Sterling.
Montgomery County police are reaching out to police in Virginia to see if the Chevy Chase robbery could be linked, said Montgomery County police spokeswoman Lucille Baur. "It takes time to check and draw conclusions," she said.
Police said the thief with the skeleton mask was not working alone.
After he entered the bank, waived around his semiautomatic handgun and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, he jumped into a black Mercedes-Benz driven by a heavy-set black male, police said. The Mercedes was possibly a 2004 or 2005 model.
Authorities do not know the race of the masked robber. He is described as tall and was wearing dark clothing at the time of the robbery.
Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery County police at 240-773-5100.
For more information about Washington-area bank robberies visit www.bankbandits.org.
More from Freeman Klopott
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