Bank robber possibly on a streak with two hits

A bad-smelling robber threatened to shoot two Wells Fargo bank tellers Wednesday morning unless they gave him money, then exchanged pleasantries with a customer as he made his escape.

"He slid a note over that said, 'Give me $50s and $100s, or I'll shoot you,'" said Carson City Sheriff's Detective Dave Legros. "At first the tellers thought he was kidding, but then he said in a very soft manner, but very aggressive manner, 'Hurry up, or I'll shoot.'"

The tellers at the branch in the Safeway grocery store on North Carson Street did as instructed, believing the bandit had a gun inside his jacket pocket, Legros said. The man took the money and the note and stuffed them into his pocket about 10:40 a.m.

As the robber left the store, a man standing at an ATM machine thought he knew him and asked him how he was doing, Legros said. The robber responded, "Fine," according to the witness. Legros said the witness then realized he was mistaken.

The tellers described the robber as being between 30 and 40 years old, wearing sunglasses and a gray hooded sweatshirt with a logo on it. He was unshaven with a thick mustache. His hands were dirty and rough, and one of the teller's said he smelled "as if he hadn't bathed in a few days," Legros said.

Investigators are trying to determine if this bank robber is the same one who held up a Nevada State Bank inside the Smith's Grocery Store in Dayton almost two weeks ago.

On Oct. 22, a man wearing the same type of clothing - a hooded sweatshirt, with the hood drawn tight, sunglasses and a mustache - slid a note over to the bank teller demanding money, said Lt. Jeroen Wynans of the Lyon County Sheriff's Department.

No one saw a gun in that case either, but the suspect held his hand in his pocket acting as if he were concealing a gun. He took the note with him when he left.

Anyone with information on either robbery is asked to call the Carson City Sheriff's Department Detective Division at 887-2020, ext. 1400, or the Lyon County Sheriff's Department at 246-6200.

Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.