By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — Police are investigating an armed robbery at the Chase Bank at 23150 Van Born that took place at 9:30 a.m. May 1.
An employee of the bank told police that her window was approached by an unknown man who handed her a note that said “twenty’s and fifty’s fast no 1 n c.”
The employee did not immediately read the note and asked the man whether the transaction was going to be from a savings or checking account. He responded by telling her that it was a robbery and that she had to “get the money quick.” She then read the contents of the note and observed the man reaching into his left coat pocket, which she told police she believed contained a gun.
She reached down and triggered the alarm system before handing the man an undisclosed amount of $20 and $50 bills. According to witnesses, the man then fled on foot north from the bank and then east on Brookside Drive.
Police arriving on the scene were able to obtain a photograph of the man from the bank’s surveillance footage. They were also able to collect fingerprints from the money tray the man used and from the robbery note that had been passed to the teller.
Tire tracks were found by the alley on the west side of Heather Lane but police were unable to determine if they were made by a vehicle entering of exiting the passageway.
The man was described as being black, 35 years old, and just over 6 feet tall with brown eyes. He was unshaven and wearing a white hat, unzipped brown jacket, white T-shirt and blue pants. He also walked with a heavy limp in his left leg.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Dearborn Heights Police Department at 313-277-6770.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)