Bank robbery suspect caught after getting on Max train

By Frank Lenzi

KPAM 860, Oct 11, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (7 Reader comments)

An armed robbery suspect prompted a large police response along Portland’s eastside early Thursday afternoon.

Just after 1 p.m., there was a robbery at the Sterling Savings branch located at Northeast 47th Avenue and Northeast Sandy Boulevard.

Portland Police Sgt. Brian Schmautz said the suspect may have fled the scene in a Portland Water Bureau Jeep that was stolen earlier in the day. It was found abandoned near the Hollywood Transit Center. Officers got a report that the suspect may have gotten on a Max train. A westbound train had just left when they arrived at the Hollywood Transit Center. They stopped it and searched it at Lloyd Center and took the suspect into custody.

There were initial reports that the suspect may have had a gun and an explosive device. No device was found.

Train service was disrupted for about 35 minutes.

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Reader comments

Re: Bank robbery suspect caught after getting on Max train

LMAO

The guy robs a bank, uses a stolen city water truck that can be spotted a mile away as a getaway car, then ditches it at the train station where he hops a train and then acts so squirrelly everyone in his car notices him right away.

Meantime, he's holding a bank bag with the loot, never pausing to think, oooh, maybe the bank puts tracking chips in their bags in case of bankrobbers!

Let's hear it for another PDX criminal mastermind - if all the crooks in this town were this stupid, we'd have the safest city in the world.