Police looking for forgery suspects

CEDAR RAPIDS - Police released three surveillance photos Friday showing a man who they say attempted to open a safety deposit box that wasn't his.

Now authorities are asking for help from the public to identify the man and another "person of interest" in the case.

According to police, the safety deposit box key was stolen from an elderly man during a burglary on June 1. Later that day, the man shown in the surveillance photos tried to use the same key at Banker's Trust, 400 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said the man was declined at the bank. She said a bank employee asked for identification, as is standard procedure, and the man said it was out in his car. He left the bank and did not return.

Falsely claiming to be the owner of a safety deposit box and attempting to gain entry to the box is a crime of forgery, Hamblin said.

The man is described as a black male, about 5-foot-11 and 240 pounds, police said. He was bald, with a mustache, and was wearing glasses in the surveillance photos.

Police are also trying to locate 44-year-old Michelle Rose, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the case. About an hour after the man tried to use the stolen key, someone using Rose's cell phone called the bank and asked what the person needed to have to have the safety deposit box opened, police said.

Bank employees then notified police about both incidents, Hamblin said.

Anyone with information about the identity or whereabouts of the persons in the photos is asked to call Linn County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-CS-CRIME (272-7463). Tips can also be sent via text message to CRIMES (274637), with 5227 in the message or subject area, along with the tip. Rewards are possible if the information leads to an arrest.