Cornered Robbery Suspect Kills Himself

A suspected armed robber who was cornered by police on a residential street Wednesday stuck a revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger - minutes after fleeing from a South Hill bank.

The 19-year-old man, whom police refused to identify, died at 6:50 p.m. at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

When police pulled over the man’s pickup at 11th and Perry, he rolled down his window and moved slowly, like he was going to follow the officer’s orders, according to witnesses.

“He started to put his hands out of the window and I thought he was going to comply,” said Seth Hurley, who watched from his front porch.

“Then boom! I saw his head jerk back, and the gun fell out.”

Hurley said the officers crept up to the truck and opened the driver’s side door. The man tumbled out.

“I heard them say he was still alive,” Hurley said. “I don’t know how he could be. He put that gun in his mouth and fired it.”

Shortly after 2 p.m., police said a man pulled up to an outside teller window at First Interstate Bank on East 30th.

He pointed a revolver at the teller and demanded money, then drove away with the cash in a black Toyota pickup.

FBI agents refused to say how much money was taken. Agent Mark Thundercloud described it only as “a wad” of cash.

Minutes later, a Spokane police officer spotted a black pickup at 11th and Rockwood.

The officer pulled over the truck on South Ivory and used a loud-speaker to order the man out, witnesses said.

Believing the man had a gun, the officer did not approach the pickup, police said. Another officer arrived for back-up seconds later.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo