Tips flow in after latest Cedar Rapids bank robbery

CEDAR RAPIDS – Several callers have provided names to investigators after a bank robbery Friday in Cedar Rapids, police said.

The male suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash from Hills Bank and Trust, 3905 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, after walking in and demanding money around 5 p.m. He did not display a weapon. Authorities now believe it could be the same man who robbed a Wells Fargo in Marion almost nine months ago.

In both robberies, a surveillance cameras captured a white man wearing a surgical mask and glasses, along with a tan jacket and a tan ball cap. Police believe the hefty-looking man is in his 30s and stands 5-foot-11 to 6 feet.

The robber had a goatee in the photos and police learned he had dark, balding hair when his cap fell off as he ran away from Hills Bank. The man picked up the hat, which had a green logo on it, and continued running, police said.

Police released a surveillance photo of the man just a few minutes before the bank robbery when he stopped at the Hy-Vee Gas just west of the bank.

Marion police Lt. Scott Elam said he instantly recognized the similarities between the Hills Bank robber and the man who robbed the Wells Fargo at 340 Seventh Ave. on Sept. 4, 2010.

“Until you get him, you never know for sure, but we're pretty confident that it's the same guy,” Marion police Lt. Scott Elam said.

Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said the man ran east from Hills Bank, on the south side of Blairs Ferry Road NE. She said investigators are unsure if a vehicle was involved.

Investigators in both jurisdictions believe someone knows the identity of the robber. Anyone with information is asked to call Cedar Rapids police at (319) 286-5495 or Linn County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-272-7463.

“It's just a matter of the right person seeing the photo,” Elam said.