Story Published:
Apr 16, 2004 at 9:10 AM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 31, 2006 at 12:27 AM PST
OLYMPIA - Maybe it was the weight belt. Or the air
tank and regulator slung over his shoulder. Whatever his excuse, a
wet suit-wearing bank robber couldn't make it to the water before
being tackled by police.
Police subdued the man Thursday evening on the shore of Budd
Inlet after a sweaty quarter-mile dash through the woods, a car
chase and crash, and his attempt to sprint into the water while
lugging his diving gear and a backpack filled with stolen cash,
Olympia police Sgt. Ray Holmes said.
"No truth to the rumor he was running in flippers," police
spokesman Tor Bjornstad said, although he noted officers found a
pair of fins inside the car after making the arrest.
The pursuit began at a Key Bank branch on the west side of
Olympia, the state capital at the southern end of Puget Sound. A
man entered the bank at 5 p.m. Thursday, Holmes said, pushed a
customer out of the way, pointed an assault rifle at a teller and
demanded money.
The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, which the
man shoved into the backpack. Police said he was wearing a wet suit
under an overcoat or a sweat suit.
Though his approach was innovative, mistakes were made, Holmes
said.
"No. 1, when he was leaving the bank he dropped some things,
which caused a slight delay," Holmes said. "No. 2, there was
quick reporting by witnesses and victims ... and officers were able
to set up a real decent area of containment."
Witnesses spotted him several blocks from the bank, running
toward the woods behind a restaurant. As police responded, a
motorcycle officer saw the man getting into a car parked at Capitol
High School, about a quarter-mile from the bank.
The man led police on a two-mile pursuit, then plowed through a
chain-link fence and crashed into a tree. After a few minutes of
trying to get the car unstuck, he fled wearing a weight belt and
toting an air tank and regulator over his shoulder, Bjornstad said.
He managed to get close enough to toss the backpack into the
water before officers tackled him on the shore and used an
electronic stun gun to halt him, Holmes said. The money was
recovered.
Charles E. Coma, 35, of Shelton was arrested for investigation
of first-degree robbery and was being held in the Thurston County
Jail on Friday. The FBI also is investigating the robbery, Holmes
said.
Coma was treated at the scene by Olympia firefighters for minor
injuries he suffered in the scuffle with officers and for signs of
heat exhaustion, Holmes said. No one else was injured.
