Deputies seek bank robber but nab shoplifter

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who robbed the Chase Bank at 822 W. Francis Tuesday afternoon.

Witnesses said the man showed a gun and demanded money before riding off on a BMX style bike just before 6 p.m., said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory.

He is described as a skinny white male about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing sunglasses, a bandana over his face, a gray and blue beanie hat, a black and gray jacket and black pants.

A man was arrested at the scene, but it was not the bank robbery suspect, Gregory said. It was a man who reportedly shoplifted items from the Safeway store next door to the bank. Deputies investigating the robbery were alerted to the theft when the man came bolting out of the store with employees in hot pursuit, Gregory said.

Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.