KRIS HOLLAND/Yakima Herald-Republic An alleged bank robber is taken to a patrol car by Yakima police Officer Jim Wolcott and Detective Kasey Hampton after his arrest near the Washington State Lottery office on Fifth Avenue on Tuesday. Two bank robberies occurred in Yakima today. Links   E-mail             Print              Comments (1) Advertisement

Yakima banks had gone all year without being robbed. But police say the same man broke that streak Tuesday when he hit two branches within two hours.

Minutes after the second robbery, officers already sweeping the area because of the first case spotted the suspect behind the state lottery office on South Fifth Avenue, Sgt. Lloyd George said.

The suspect, 56, who had just been released Tuesday morning from the Wapato city jail after serving time for a Yakima shoplifting conviction, had ordered a cocktail at the neighboring El Porton de Pepe restaurant at Fifth and Chestnut avenues, George said.

He left without paying for the drink, apparently after seeing patrol cars in the area, George said.

Three officers -- George, fellow Detective Sgt. Scot Levno and Detective Kasey Hampton -- spotted him at the same time.

They quickly detained him as other officers arrived. The suspect resisted being moved after officers placed him in handcuffs. He was then seen spitting at one of the officers.

Capt. Jeff Schneider said that it probably wasn't too smart for the same man to rob two banks so close together. But he also noted that it's not very smart to rob banks in the first place.

Detectives said the man first entered the Wells Fargo branch at First Street and Yakima Avenue about 1:10 p.m. He approached a teller, made threatening statements demanding money and was given an undisclosed amount of cash.

A bank video captured his face, and officers circulated the photo among themselves.

Based on the initial physical description, officers thought the suspect might be a known offender who lives in the 300 block of South Third Street, right behind the police station. But the picture turned out not to match, detectives said.

By the time the police caught up to him, the man had apparently discarded a dark-colored coat with a fur-type collar that he was wearing in the first robbery. Officers searched the area, but didn't find it.

The second robbery, at the Central Valley Bank at Third and Yakima avenues, followed the same sequence as the first one, investigators said. It was reported at about 2:30 p.m., four blocks or so away from the first bank.

Some cash was taken off the man when he was arrested, but Schneider did not say whether it was the full amount taken in the robberies.

The suspect was booked into the Yakima County jail on two counts of bank robbery.

Sgt. George said the theft of the alcoholic beverage from the restaurant wouldn't be an immediate priority for police.