AUGUSTA — Police are searching for a man they say robbed a Capitol Street bank Monday.
Augusta police Detective Sgt. Matthew Clark said the man, said to be in 30s and wearing dark sunglasses, demanded money from a teller and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.
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“Augusta police officers were in the area within a short time of the call but were unable to locate the suspect,” Clark said.
Augusta police Lt. Kevin Lully said no injuries were reported and the robber did not display a weapon.
The holdup occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. at the Bangor Savings Bank at 77 Capitol St., directly across the street from the Burton M. Cross State Office Building and across Chamberlain Street from the Blaine House, the governor’s home.
Yellow crime scene tape crossed the entry points leading into the bank shortly after the robbery. Traffic continued to move freely on streets around the bank, including Capitol, Sewall and Chamberlain streets.
Police interviewed witnesses inside the bank as officers outside searched for the suspect. A Maine State Police dog scoured the area, including a nearby parking garage, without success.
Employees told police a white male entered the bank around 10:24 a.m. and demanded money, Clark said. The man was believed to be in his 20s or 30s, stood about 5 feet, 6 inches in height and weighed 130 to 150 pounds.
The suspect, clearly visible in surveillance camera images, has a goatee and wore blue jeans, a dark gray hooded sweat shirt, a black baseball hat and sunglasses. The man was carrying a black duffel bag, Clark said.
“The suspect communicated demands to a bank employee,” he said. “The suspect left the bank on foot and was last seen traveling northwest toward Sewall Street.”
Clark did not return a phone call seeking comment on whether police think Monday’s robbery is related to a July 29 holdup at a credit union in Unity. In that robbery, a white man said to be in his 20s and standing about 5 feet, 7 inches in height handed the teller a black bag and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.
The robber in that incident was described as thin and sporting facial hair. The man wore sunglasses, white shoes and a white hooded sweatshirt. No weapon was shown during the robbery.
Police have said the Unity robbery is not connected to one that occurred Aug. 11 in Winslow.
In that robbery, a man described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds walked into Winslow Community Federal Credit Union on Monument Street and demanded all the cash in a teller’s drawer, Winslow Police Chief Jeffrey Fenlason said at the time. The robber placed what was described as an unusual, crocheted-looking bag on the counter in front of the teller.
No weapon was used in that holdup, Fenlason said.
The Winslow robber wore a hooded sweatshirt with horizontal black and white stripes, light blue jeans, sunglasses and a dark baseball cap beneath the hood. He was wearing white shirt under the sweatshirt, according to police.
Police continue to search those responsible for the holdups in Unity and Winslow as well as a robbery Aug. 1 at a Manchester Rite Aid pharmacy.
The robbery at the Western Avenue drugstore reportedly was committed by a white man in his early 20s said to be 5 feet, 7 inches tall and wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans and sneakers.
Witnesses thought they saw a gun, police said at the time, but no gun was shown during the robbery.
The man got away with an unknown quantity of oxycodone and the tray the pharmacist used to sort the pills.
Craig Crosby — 621-5642
ccrosby@centralmaine.com
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