A man threatened to detonate a bomb inside the Sashabaw Road Farmer Jack store last week if Clarkston State Bank tellers did not cooperate with his demands.
Three tellers cooperated, and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department said the suspect escaped with ‘a large amount? of money.
Deputies were dispatched at about 1:26 p.m. on Oct. 22. Though they arrived quickly, the suspect had already fled, reports said.
One teller told deputies the man had appeared near the counter briefly after obtaining several orange plastic grocery bags from the Farmer Jack store. After looking at what the teller thought was a walkie-talkie or a cell phone, the man walked back into the grocery store area.
About 15 minutes later, he returned to the Clarkston State Bank counter and told the tellers, ‘Listen up. I have a bomb in the store. This will set it off.?
After demanding all the $100, $50 and $20 bills from all three tellers, he said, ‘If I see cops, I’m setting off the bomb,? reports said.
One store patron told deputies he saw the suspect walk outside to the north side of the building, but he did not see the man drive away. No one else saw the suspect’s vehicle, reports said.
Agents from the Troy FBI office responded. They obtained serial numbers from ‘bait money? in the register and dusted for fingerprints. No bombs were found in the store.
The suspect was described as a white male in his late 30s, approximately 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, wearing sunglasses, a blue baseball cap, navy blue vest jacket and denim jeans.
Investigators on Monday were working with store surveillance video in an attempt to isolate a photo of the suspect.
Lt. Dale LaBair, commander of the Independence Township sheriff substation, estimated at least five bank robberies this year, with the normal being one or two annually.
‘It’s really high for us,? LaBair said, noting a recent report of more bank robberies throughout the state of Michigan during 2004. ‘There’s been a huge increase.?
LaBair said there is no clear reason for the increase in robberies.
Anyone with information on the latest incident is encouraged to call the Independence Township sheriff substation at (248) 620-4968.