Police seek man in 2017 bank incidents

Chase Bank branches in Columbus were the target of one attempted and one successful bank robbery in the span of three days in December 2017.

Witnesses to each incident gave similar suspect descriptions, and police believe the same person hit both banks.

Now they’re looking for the public’s help to find the suspect.

A man who appeared to be in his mid-20s walked into a Chase Bank on the 1600 block of Lockbourne Road in the South Side on the afternoon of Dec. 21, 2017, and handed a note demanding money to a teller through a glass barrier, a police report said. The teller refused and backed away from the glass, the report said. The man then grabbed the note and ran out of the building.

Two days later, a man matching the description of the Dec. 21 robber walked into a Chase Bank on the 2000 block of Brice Road on the Far East Side and handed another teller a note demanding money, a second police report said. This time the teller complied, and the robber left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

While the robber wore different clothing in the second robbery, in both cases he is described as a white male in his 20s, who is unshaven and roughly 5-foot-8 with a medical patch over his left eye.

Anyone who can provide information about the robbery attempts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 614-461TIPS (8477) or go to http:// stopcrime.org/ and email a tip. Tips can also be submitted through the free P3 Tips app on iOS and Android platforms.