Credit union robber caught on camera jogging past surveillance business

UPDATE: The man who robbed a Cedar Rapids credit union Wednesday jogged past a business that sells surveillance systems as he tried to get away.

Police said a masked man with a handgun took cash from a teller around 9:20 a.m. at Linn Area Credit Union, 619 20th Ave. SW. He went north along Sixth Avenue SW, and then cut through the parking lot of Electronic Engineering.

Three surveillance cameras at the communications and security business captured images of the robber.

“He was doing a cautious jog,” employee Ed Toczylowski said. “It was fast-paced, but he was looking around.”

No one was injured in the robbery. Police interviewed neighbors and used a K-9 unit dog to track the suspect at the scene, but no arrests had been made as of early Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the suspect is described as a white male in his 20s, around 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4 with a skinny build. He was wearing a black mask, a gray hooded sweat shirt, navy blue slacks and hiking boots. Inside the credit union, he did not draw attention to himself, police said.

“He was very calm,” said Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a police spokeswoman.

After passing Electronic Engineering, police say it is possible the suspect got into a maroon sedan on 19th Avenue SW. Hamblin said the car went north on Sixth Street and turned east on 16th Avenue SW.

“(Video surveillance) is inconclusive, whether he got into the car or he didn't,” Hamblin said. “We're not going to rule it out.”

It was the second robbery of a financial institution in Cedar Rapids in less than a week. A man robbed Community Savings Bank, 3414 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, on the afternoon of Feb. 11. The next day, police arrested Randy Copenhaver, 42, in connection with the holdup.

The case was cracked with a copy of Copenhaver's own driver's license. Police said he left it with a nearby auto dealership to test drive a sport-utility vehicle, and then used that vehicle during the robbery.

Hamblin said there is no reason to believe the two robberies are related.

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