things must be getting pretty bad in snortland, got this from a co-worker of one of the suspects at intel:
oregonlive.com
Three people with engineering backgrounds accused of takeover-style robberies at two Portland banks
Bryan Denson, The Oregonian Bryan Denson, The Oregonian
Minutes before lunchtime on Sept. 18, two gunmen wearing gray hoodies and Halloween masks burst through the doors of the U.S. Bank in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood.
By way of introduction, one of the suspects fired a single .45-caliber slug through the ceiling as they announced plans to rob the place.
Thus commenced the first of two bank robberies, with a third -- planned for today -- foiled by detectives who hunted them down, according to federal court papers. Instead, three suspects -- Stanley N. Ames, 31, Eric S. Wilcoxson, 28, and Pamela M. McGowan, 25 -- found themselves in Portland's U.S. District Court this afternoon, shackled at the ankles, to face armed bank robbery charges.
The suspects -- each with engineering backgrounds and profiles on Internet social networking sites -- looked hopelessly out of place as they were hauled before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald C. Ashmanskas, their appearances sandwiched between the standard docket of suspected drug dealers and an accused child pornographer.
Portland Police BureauA U.S. Bank surveillance photo captured images of the suspected robbers wearing Halloween masks.
September's Woodstock heist left observers terrified. One of the robbers had ordered customers to the floor as the other demanded entry to a secure area behind a bullet-resistant enclosure. Two tellers were forced to open their cash drawers, which the robber emptied.
Portland police later found an empty .45-caliber shell casing on the floor. They learned that their suspects had made off with $11,490. The cash included five $10 "bait bills," which the bank had logged by serial number to help police identify money stolen in just such a robbery.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the suspects climb into a blue Toyota driven by a woman. At least one witness took down a license plate number.
Detective Anthony Christensen checked Oregon DMV records and learned the plate belonged to a red 1993 Ford Escort. The registered owner told Christensen she sold the Ford the day before the robbery for $900 to a woman who identified herself as Jenny Smith. The previous owner said she had traded some online correspondence with "jennysmith151985@yahoo.com."
Investigators tracked the e-mails to an Internet service provider address at Portland's Sulzer Pumps, where Ames worked. The woman who had sold the Ford identified Ames as looking like the man who had accompanied the buyer of the car, according to a government account in court papers.
Police said they learned Ames lived with McGowan and she had posed as "Jenny Smith" to buy the Ford. They kept an eye on her as they built their case.
On Oct. 8, according to police, the two men hit the U.S. Bank at 4920 N.E. 42nd Ave., and followed the same script as the Woodstock robbery. One of them fired a shot into the ceiling, this time with a .40-caliber handgun, before they split their chores between the lobby and the secure enclosure. The gunmen made off with approximately $11,000 -- including more bait bills.
By Tuesday of this week, police were tailing McGowan. She was observed at a Southeast Portland Starbucks using a netbook to browse Craigslist ads for used autos. A few hours later, a detective watched as McGowan bought a 1990 Saab.
Investigators said McGowan, using the name Christy Kelson, paid $1,050 for the silver sedan. The seller let them look through the money, and they found bait bills taken in both the Woodstock and 42nd Avenue bank robberies, according to an affidavit signed by Detective Brett Hawkinson.
Police raided McGowan and Ames' home at 9233 S.E. Mitchell St. on Wednesday, seizing two semiautomatic handguns -- a .40-caliber Taurus and a .32-caliber Kel-Tec -- two sets of concealable body armor, clothing and masks that matched those used in the robberies, and a hand-written ledger, Hawkinson wrote.
The ledger held notes about the purchases of vehicles, ballistic armor and police scanners. Some of the notes tallied profits from the bank robberies and showed the money being split three ways in the names of "Pam," "Stan" and "Eric."
Detectives arrested McGowan and Ames and took them to their downtown office for questioning. There, according to Hawkinson's affidavit, McGowan confessed to being a getaway driver and named Wilcoxson as the third robber.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer told Judge Ashmanskas today that not only were the defendants dangerous, but releasing them before trial carried a risk they would flee. Peifer noted that when investigators searched McGowan's home, they found her bags and passport ready to go at a moment's notice.
-- Bryan Denson |
