Heists still a mystery
Nov 11, 2012 (Menafn - The Dominion Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --ANYONE WITH information on two robberies at the Huntington Bank in Blacksville is asked to contact State Police at 304-285-3200 or the Monongalia County Sheriff's Department at 304-291-7218. Anonymous tips can be made online at wvcrime.com. Anyone with information on a robbery at the United Bank in Westover is asked to contact the Westover Police Department at 304-296-6576.
Witnesses to two robberies at the Huntington Bank in Blacksville this summer don't think they were committed by the same person, police said.
Both bank robberies -- committed June 7 and July 16 -- are unsolved. A 10,000 reward is available in each case for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
The investigation into a third Monongalia County bank robbery this year -- committed Jan. 3 at the United Bank in Westover -- also continues.
Police initially considered the possibility that the Blacksville robberies were committed by the same suspect, but witnesses to both robberies said they were different men.
Both robbers are similarly described and each ran off behind the bank, down a hill and into a heavily wooded area after the hold-up.
However, one robber was slightly taller than the other and was wearing all black and carrying a small pistol. The other was dressed in camouflage and had a high-powered rifle.
State Police Cpl. R. Gaskins, who is part of the team investigating the Blacksville robberies, said the robberies were well planned and the robbers made sure to disguise themselves well.
"You have to hope somebody recognizes a piece of clothing or a firearm," he said.
He said the robbers had a head start because of the time law enforcement needed to travel from Morgantown to Blacksville.
Monongalia County Sheriff 's Department Chief Deputy Rick Adkins said they'll keep investigating the cases until they are solved.
The following information on this year's bank robberies in Monongalia County was provided by various police agencies:
On July 16, a man robbed the Huntington Bank in Blacksville. He was most likely white, stood about 5-foot-9 or 5-10, and was carrying a small pistol. He was thin, in his mid-to-late 20s, and was wearing a black ski mask, a black T-shirt, black cargo pants and black boots.
He made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and ran behind the bank, down a hill and into a heavily wooded area cut through by a set of railroad tracks and Dunkard Creek.
The man who robbed the same bank June 7 used the same escape route. That robber was dressed all in camouflage and had a highpowered rifle. He was described as 5-foot-6 with a medium build.
On Jan. 3, a man wearing a dark-colored mask and carrying a black handgun robbed United Bank on Holland Avenue and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, reportedly spilling dozens of dollar bills near Rite Aid as he fled.
The robber was white, in his 20s and 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1 with an average build. He was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, black shoes, a dark-colored mask and possibly a dark-colored ballcap. He was carrying a black handgun. The same bank was robbed one year prior, on Jan. 5, 2011. United Bank is no longer located in that building.
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