This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
South Salt Lake police want the public's help to catch a masked bank robber — possibly the same one who hit a Salt Lake City bank a week ago.
At 10:48 a.m. Thursday, a man wearing a transparent Halloween mask came into the US Bank branch at 2700 S. 300 West and pointed a black handgun at the employees, according to a police news release. He got an undisclosed amount of cash and fled on foot, dropping a few bills on the lawn of a neighboring business as he ran northwest, the release adds.
The robber in the surveillance photos bears a striking similarity to the masked man who last Thursday robbed a Zions Bank branch in Salt Lake City, at 910 W. 2100 South.
"We had the FBI on scene at our robbery, and they're certainly working with Salt Lake City. It's very possible that it's the same bandit," said South Salt Lake Police spokesman Gary Keller. "We can't confirm it was the same, but … it's highly possible that it's the same person."
In the earlier robbery, the man was wearing a distinctive red mask when he brandished a weapon and demanded cash from a teller, according to a Salt Lake City police news release. He then left and was last seen heading north on foot, that release adds.
Salt Lake City police withheld what kind of weapon the robber used for the integrity of the investigation.
Investigators believe people in the area, including patrons of nearby businesses, may have seen him running from the bank.
Salt Lake City police ask anyone who knows his whereabouts to call 801-799-3000. Their counterparts in South Salt Lake ask anyone with information about the US Bank robbery to call 801-840-4000.
Both agencies offer anonymity to tipsters.
There were no customers inside the bank at the time of either robbery and neither branch's employees were hurt.
Both agencies describe the suspect as a black male who stands about 6 feet tall, wearing a knitted beanie, a light-colored collared shirt, gloves and dress pants. In the South Salt Lake robbery, he was wearing white shoes, and while Salt Lake City police describe him as thin, South Salt Lake offer a more specific assessment of 180 pounds.
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