County police on Thursday released surveillance video of a Bethesda bank robbery that shows a man in khaki pants and with his faced covered waving a small handgun and directing a bank teller to put money into a bag.
Police said officers were called about the robbery at 9:18 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13 at the PNC bank at the Wildwood Shopping Center on Old Georgetown Road. Police said the same man robbed the M&T Bank at 10420 Montgomery Ave. in Kensington about 30 minutes later.
Police released the video and additional photos taken from the video in hopes that someone will identify the suspect, who is also suspected in three other area bank robberies dating from January 2012 to December 2014.
Upon entering the PNC bank at Wildwood Shopping Center, the suspect can be seen showing a small handgun and speaking to employees inside. Police say he was demanding money.
The video, which lasts almost four minutes, shows the man giving one of the bank tellers a green bag to put the money in. He also is shown carefully looking through the stolen cash, apparently to check for electronic trackers banks sometimes use in robberies.
Throughout the video, the suspect is moving around the bank and watching the door with the gun in his left hand. At one point, he appears to direct one of the bank employees to another part of the bank.
Police believe the suspect is white and in his 40s or 50s. During the two Feb. 13 robberies, he wore a dark-colored, hooded jacket and covered his face. He wore gloves that were dark on the palm and white on the back. Under his jacket was a brown checkered dress-shirt. He wore khaki pants and brown dress shoes.
Police said that after the Kensington robbery, a witness followed the suspect into the parking lot and the suspect pointed a gun toward the witness. The witness then ran back into the bank.
Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to call the Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070. Tipsters can also call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-8477. Tipsters will remain anonymous.
Police are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
