Attempted robbery suspects sought
REDSTONE TWP. – State police are circulating a photo of two men who attempted to rob the Parkvale Bank on Route 40 Thursday afternoon in the hope that someone will recognize the suspects. The two men entered the bank at 3:38 p.m., just 12 minutes before it was to close. One of them handed a teller a note requesting money, but they left together without taking any cash with them.
“It’s something I’ve never encountered before. They passed the note. The money was there,” said Trooper Jeffrey Trypus, the investigating officer.
Trypus said that the men were not confronted by any of the bank employees or customers and it is unclear why they left without the money.
The attempted robbery took place just minutes after a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation work crew had finished up work on Route 40 for the day, according to PennDOT District 12 spokeswoman Valerie Petersen.
“They began to pack up around 3:30. It was about 3:45 when they stopped. Every other night, they had been working until around 6 p.m.,” Petersen said. “There were still flagmen in the area. If you knew the area at all, you knew there was a possibility you could get stopped in traffic.”
Traffic on Route 40 between Brownsville and Uniontown had been subject to long delays over the past four weeks because of the paving project.
According to the state police, the two would-be bank robbers were seen leaving the area in a white van, similar to a Chevy Astro, heading toward Uniontown on Route 40.
The suspects are described as white males in their 30’s. One was about 5-feet-5-inches tall with a thin build. He had shoulder-length curly black hair and a scruffy beard. He was wearing a black and white bandana around his head, a yellow sleeveless T-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.
The second suspect was 6-foot tall, with a thin to medium build and short brown hair. He was wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans.
Anyone with information about the attempted robbery is asked to call the state police at Belle Vernon at 724-929-6262.