Robbery suspect arrested at casino

Robbery suspect arrested at casino
Art Bukowski
The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
May 4, 2012

KINGSLEY — A man who police believe rolled the dice and robbed a local bank faces the legal equivalent of snake eyes after authorities nabbed him at a local casino.

A Fife Lake man, 50, entered Northwestern Bank's Kingsley branch shortly after it opened Thursday at 9 a.m. and demanded money, Grand Traverse County sheriff's investigators said.

He left with cash, but authorities tracked him to Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg. He was arrested shortly before 2 p.m.

"We are very pleased to have this gentleman under arrest ... just short of five hours from the point of the robbery," Undersheriff Nate Alger said. "It's a very serious offense."

Authorities didn't identify the man Thursday afternoon. He remained in jail and likely will be charged Friday.

The suspect obtained money from a teller, then told employees a bomb was in the bank's parking lot. He drove onto M-113 in a green sport utility vehicle.

Authorities developed a "probable identity of the suspect very early in the investigation," Alger said, and alerted other agencies. A Traverse City Police detective later spotted the vehicle in the Turtle Creek parking lot.

Police waited for him to emerge from the casino and arrested him without incident. Authorities questioned, but didn't arrest, another man who was with the suspect. They continue to investigate what role he may have played.

The robbery created quite a fuss in typically tranquil Kingsley in southern Grand Traverse County, and village resident Diane Bogart wanted to get a closer look.

Bogart's husband told her of the incident at the bank branch just north of Kingsley's main intersection, and several police officers surrounded the building as Bogart made her way there from her nearby home.

She was alarmed to learn the suspect threatened tellers with a bomb.

"At first I thought it was a joke; I couldn't believe it," she said. "I was very surprised, this is such a quiet little town."

Bogart, who banks with Northwestern, had other concerns once the dust settled.

"I'm going to have to go see if my money is still there," she said with a laugh.

Deputies used a bomb-detecting dog to sweep the bank and the surrounding area. No explosives were found.

The Kingsley incident is the third Grand Traverse County robbery in about a month. A man robbed Gander Mountain in Garfield Township on April 5, and a male suspect held up the Garfield Township Walgreens on April 24.

"I've been here 24 years, and we go through these sorts of spurts with all different types of crimes," sheriff's Capt. Dave Meachum said. "There are some things that are explainable, and some that aren't."

The incident rattled tellers, bank spokesman Doug Zernow said.

"It's very out of the ordinary," he said. "Fortunately, our people are trained for this kind of stuff, and they did exactly what they were trained to do."

Deputies blocked of much of downtown as they sought clues, and authorities briefly locked down Kingsley schools. Village residents and visitors poked around to see what they could find out. Cathy Harrigan, who owns Kingsley Floral, took a peek to satisfy her curiosity. Neighbors clamored for answers, she said.

"We're that kind of town -- more curious than anything," she said. "And this is a strange occurrence."
Kingsley native Colleen Conners has a downtown apartment only a hundred yards or so from the bank, but she found out about the incident through a text message from a friend in Traverse City.
Conners said the incident was surprising, though not entirely so.

"It's shocking, but the economy is pretty tough right now," she said. "People do stupid things when they're desperate."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-mct-robbery-suspect-arrested-at-casino-20120504,0,3044581.story