Man Wears Smile During Robbery Of Downtown Bank Branch

Sun., Jan. 8, 1995

From Staff And Wire Reports

Displaying a smile instead of a weapon, a man robbed a U.S. Bank branch in downtown Spokane Friday.

Police said the robbery occurred at 6 p.m. at the branch, W. 503 Third Ave.

The man stood in line with other customers. When he arrived at a teller’s window, bank employees said he fumbled with a white paper bag from Zip’s, asking the teller for cash.

“The man was described as smiling and very nervous by bank employees,” according to a prepared statement from the Spokane Police Department.

The teller gave the man some money along with a pack of dye.

Police and a canine unit tracked the man to the Briggs Apartments, S. 225 Wall.

Officers there detected a strong odor of tear gas, which is emitted from the dye pack. They searched the building but failed to find a suspect. The Zip’s bag, some cash and the dye pack were located on Howard near Third.

The man did not show any weapon and there were no injuries.

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