Deputy Spots Robbery Suspect

Police said a South Hill bank robber ran into bad luck last week when he walked by a passing deputy who just happened to be in the neighborhood.

A man with a handgun robbed the U.S. Bank at 2807 E. 29th on Dec. 6. His face was covered with a red bandana, but the image of his face was captured on videotape by the security camera of a nearby business, Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

The man left with a bag of money. Immediately, police dispatch sent out a description of the robber as a white male in his 40s with spiked blond hair and wearing an orange jacket. Meanwhile, Deputy Greg Snyder, the Sheriff’s Office crime-prevention officer, was delivering community policing materials to residents in the area, Cpl. Dave Reagan said.

The deputy drove into the area and spotted a man he thought might have been involved walking along South Ray at 29th. The man had spiked blond hair but appeared younger than 40, Reagan said.

When Snyder swung around to take a second look, however, a witness who had followed the man got the deputy’s attention and said, “Yeah, that’s the guy,” Reagan said.

As Snyder approached the pedestrian of interest, he also noticed that the man had reversed his coat, Reagan said. On the inside, the coat was orange.

Snyder and other responding officers then took the man, 43-year old William F. Seawright, into custody.

Soon afterward, a Spokane police dog and handler tracked down a handgun and stolen money that apparently had been dropped nearby.

Seawright was arrested on outstanding warrants for alleged traffic violations and was turned over to the FBI for questioning. The FBI has jurisdiction over bank robberies.

A grand jury indicted Seawright in the robbery Tuesday.

The bank holdup is the 23rd in Spokane this year, which is “below normal compared to last year,” FBI Special Agent Norm Brown said.

He noted that most of the cases were solved with the robbers’ arrests.