PORTLAND — Police on Monday increased to $10,000 the reward for information leading to the arrests of individuals responsible for robbing two banks this spring.
In addition to a $5,000 reward being offered by TruChoice Federal Credit Union, cPort Federal Credit Union is also offering a $5,000 reward.
The TruChoice Credit Union was held up on May 26 and the cPort Credit Union on June 19. The offers expire on Aug. 31.
In both cases, the robber was armed with a handgun and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. Shortly after the cPort Credit Union was robbed last Friday, police said the same person held up Bank of America at One City Center.
An ensuing manhunt closed a parking garage near the city’s central square.
Maj. Don Krier of the Portland Police Department said police believe the same suspect robbed the cPort Credit Union at 285 Forest Ave. around 11:45 a.m., then the Bank of America branch in Monument Square around 12:20 p.m.
Surveillance photos released by police Friday afternoon show a man pointing a gun at a bank customer with his right hand and holding what appears to be a book in his left hand.
Police believe both robberies were committed by the same person, who reportedly demanded cash at the register and fled on foot. The banks are less than a mile apart, which would take a person about 25 to 30 minutes to walk at a normal pace.
Police said no injuries were reported in either robbery.
The suspect likely fled on foot from the garage after the robbery, which temporarily was closed during the sweep, according to Krier. Dozens of onlookers awaited the garage reopening to access their cars parked inside.
In a release issued Friday afternoon, Portland police described the perpetrator as a black male in his 20s or 30s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall, with a thin build. He was wearing tan, bucket-style hat with lime green trim band.
The robber and an accomplice allegedly fled in a late-model red Ford or Mercury sedan, according to what police described as witness reports.
Police have not determined whether there is a connection between that robbery and the incidents Friday.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 874-8575.
Sidebar Elements
Police released this surveillance photo of a man suspected of robbing the cPort Credit Union and the Bank of America branch in Monument Square around noon Friday.
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