December 14, 2012

Man robs Skowhegan bank, flees with cash

Robber claimed he had an accomplice waiting outside with a rifle

By Doug Harlow dharlow@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

SKOWHEGAN -- A Madison Avenue bank was robbed just before 5 p.m. Thursday by a man who said he had an accomplice with a rifle outside, police said.

click image to enlarge

Michael Emmons, Skowhegan police chief, emerges from the drive-through teller bay at Franklin Savings Bank on Madison Avenue in Skowhegan Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, while investigating a robbery.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

click image to enlarge

State police Trooper Rick Moody and his dog, Kushel,search for a man who robbed the Franklin Savings Bank in Skowhegan Thursday night.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

The man was described to be about 60 years old, wearing layers of dark clothing and a dark, hooded sweatshirt.

He entered the Franklin Savings Bank through the entrance facing Madison Avenue, according to Skowhegan police Chief Michael Emmons. He handed a female teller a note demanding cash and showed her a plastic bag to put the money in.

He did not display a weapon.

The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the man escaped on foot through the same door, Emmons said.

"He told the teller to give him everything she had at that particular teller station," Emmons said. "They got the doors locked and called 911."

The call reporting the robbery came in at 4:41 p.m.

Emmons said there was no evidence of another person outside with a rifle and a getaway vehicle was not seen by witnesses.

Skowhegan police officers along with Somerset County sheriff's deputies and Maine State Police searched the area using tracking dogs in an attempt to find the robber. Police briefly detained a man farther up Madison Avenue, behind Gifford's Ice Cream, but let him go.

Police also were searching trails behind VIP Discount Automotive, next to Gifford's; but by 6:30 p.m., no one had been arrested.

"The individual was wearing a lot of clothing, several layers of clothing," Emmons said. "He had on dark pants and was wearing an orange hunting baseball cap, with a skull cap over the top. Black gloves. No mask."

The man appeared to be about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, Emmons said.

Doug Harlow -- 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

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