STCU robbery suspect implicated in previous bank robbery

Police are investigating the possibility that the suspected bank robber shot in a Spokane Valley credit union last week also was involved in a bank robbery three weeks ago in Spokane.

Jeremy D. John, 44, was arrested Tuesday night after he called his mother and admitted to robbing the STCU branch on East 32nd Avenue, according to newly filed court documents.

“He said he was not going to turn himself in, and he was not going to die in prison,” court documents say. “He wanted her to put his ashes next to grandpa’s, because he was not going to be taken alive.”

John was apparently shot during the STCU robbery on June 30. A customer who had a concealed handgun fired at the suspect, and security images showed what appeared to be blood on the suspect’s sweatshirt.

Following several leads, detectives traced John to the Rodeway Inn on East Broadway Avenue, about 5 miles from the credit union. He was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with bullet wounds in his arm and hip, according to court documents.

Detectives believe John also robbed the Chase Bank on West Francis Avenue on June 14, according to court documents. They cited similar clothing and physical descriptions of the suspect, as well as the use of a bicycle as a getaway vehicle.

In the STCU robbery, the suspect fled on foot, leaving behind a bike, a bag of cash and a BB gun, according to court documents. Authorities followed “a trail of blood” to an adjacent street but could not immediately find the suspect.

Court documents say John borrowed his girlfriend’s car several hours before the robbery and “said he was going to the bank to get an inheritance of about $10,000.” She later found black gloves and cloth bandages in the car, documents say.

Documents don’t identify the customer who fired at the robber, and authorities have not released his name. But they said he had a license to carry a concealed handgun and has retained a lawyer.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said charges will be filed against John after he is released from the hospital. He was still under police supervision there Thursday morning.