Cash grabbed
Published 10:23 pm Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Police are investigating a Tuesday morning bank robbery at the Bank of Hampton Roads in downtown Suffolk.
At about 10:05 a.m., a heavyset black male entered the bank, located at 117 Market St., and displayed a dark handgun, according to Suffolk spokesperson Diana L. Klink.
The subject reached over the counter and took an unspecified amount of cash and then fled on foot toward Saratoga Street, carrying the money in a bag, Klink said.
He was wearing dark clothing and a black ski mask at the time of the robbery, she added.
Officials from other nearby banks said they had heard about the robbery and were being a bit more cautious throughout the day on Tuesday, though they were not letting the incident interfere with normal operations.
“It’s pretty much business as usual,” SunTrust Bank branch manager Gail Williams said. “We put out a reminder (to employees) to be a bit more cautious to folks they don’t know. Most of us already have pretty good security systems in place.”
Williams said police had informed employees in her N. Main Street location about the robbery around the corner. Wachovia Bank employees also had heard about the robbery, which took place across the street from their building.
Somewhat farther away, officials at Chartway Federal Credit Union said they normally get an email notification via corporate email whenever there’s a robbery in the area.
“We do forward emails and let everyone know when we have some type of description to be aware of,” branch manager Ashley Watson said.
Anyone with information about the robbery should contact Crime Line at 1-888-Lock-U-Up. Crime Line callers do not have to give their names or appear in court. If a caller’s information leads to an arrest, the caller can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.
Managing editor Res Spears contributed to this report.