Authorities identify bank robber

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- A Nevada City escapee is being sought in a South Lake Tahoe bank robbery.

Steven Mark Williams, 40, is suspected of robbing the Bank of the West on June 5 after escaping from the Nevada City Courthouse on June 3.

Williams was at the courthouse for a hearing on a bank robbery in Auburn, Calif.

Williams, 40, allegedly walked into Bank of the West at 2161 Lake Tahoe Blvd., showed a teller a note demanding money and implied he had a gun, which was never seen.

After receiving an undisclosed amount of money, police said, Williams left on foot heading east on James Avenue toward Tahoe Keys Boulevard.

A brown 1976 Ford pickup with lumber racks was taken at noon near the courthouse on June 5, two days after Williams escaped. It is unknown whether Williams took the vehicle, but a witness described a similar brown pickup truck behind the bank before the robbery, police reported. The brown pickup bore the same personal license plate "COIE" as the stolen Ford in Nevada City.

Williams has robbed numerous banks and faced more time in prison during a court appearance at Nevada City Courthouse to consider a plea bargain on charges he robbed a Placer Sierra Bank in June 2001.

Authorities say Williams somehow kicked off leg shackles and bolted from the courthouse's first-floor exit, law enforcement reported. After shedding his orange jail shirt on a nearby bridge, he ducked into a wooded ravine and disappeared before the South Lake Tahoe bank robbery.

Williams is described as methamphetamine addict who enjoys gambling and visiting brothels. He has two tattoos on his chest: "Robbin" on the left and a unicorn head on the right.

South Lake Tahoe police Detective Danny Mosqueira thinks Williams has left South Lake Tahoe and was possibly headed for Reno. A look-out has been posted for Williams in Nevada, south to Las Vegas, and in California, to the Mexican border.

South Lake Tahoe police are working in conjunction with the California Department of Corrections, Nevada County Sheriff's Department and the FBI.

YOU CAN HELP

Anyone with information is asked to call (530) 542-6100, Nevada County Sheriff's Office at (530) 265-7880 or FBI Agent Chris Campion at (530) 542-4140.