Samperisi letter: Bank robberies

It is unfortunate when we read about local banks being robbed. I worked at a California bank and we prevented a sure robbery and helped lead to the arrest of a bank robber. It was simple. Signs were on the doors telling customers to remove hats, hoodies and sunglasses when entering the bank. One day, a suspicious young man was told to take off his concealing hat and sunglasses while he was in line. He did so and then made a simple currency exchange. We found out the next day that a robbery occurred at a nearby bank and we recognized the character from his disguise when his picture was in the newspaper. We had video from his visit to our bank and sent it to the local police. They were able to ID him from clearly seeing his face and he was arrested. This can easily be done in Idaho by just drawing attention to these characters before they reach the teller window. If they won’t take off their concealing disguises before transacting business, they most likely will just leave after being singled out.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Samperisi letter: Bank robberies."