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SALT LAKE CITY — On a day when the Salt Lake City police chief hosted a Bank Safety Summit to address an alarming spike in bank robberies, police arrested a man suspected in three of them.
"You're familiar with the maxim, 'Crime doesn't pay.' Bank robbery really, really doesn't pay," said David B. Barlow, U.S. attorney for the District of Utah. He said police and prosecutors have ramped up their teamwork to get bank robbers off the streets.
There have been at least 22 bank robberies in Salt Lake Valley neighborhoods since the beginning of the year. In some cases, the robber used a weapon and threatened violence. If that rate continues, there could be more than 130 by the end of the year.
During 2013, there were 70 bank robberies in the Salt Lake area, and just 26 during 2012.
"This is an alarming trend that is occurring," Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank told the 25 law enforcers and approximately 60 bank representatives who registered to attend the summit.
Tuesday, his officers arrested 37-year-old Kevin Minix after someone spotted him unconscious in a car and called 911.
"He actually appeared to be drunk, or on something," said Sgt. Robin Heiden.
Investigators said they realized he was their suspect in a U.S. Bank robbery at 2243 E. 2100 South on Feb. 7, and Key Bank robberies at 1500 S. Foothill on Feb. 13 and 2299 S. Highland Drive Feb. 20.
Police say the robber went from mentioning a gun in the first bank robbery to pointing a gun at someone in the last robbery.
"His violence escalated in each of the robberies," said Heiden. "So, we're really happy that someone saw this suspicious male and decided to give us a call, because you never know who it's going to be."
Barlow shared a sample of nine cases from arrest to sentencing that his office is working on.
"In the majority, the crime is often driven by drug addiction," he said. "The increase and decrease, the ebb and flow of bank robberies, is really unpredictable."
Even though the number of robberies is up in the Salt Lake area, he said his office is sending the criminals to prison. Utah law enforcement solves 90 percent of the bank robberies, he said.
"It is really, really difficult to conduct a bank robbery and not be identified pretty quickly," Barlow said.
Barlow said William and Michelle Parker of Tooele, both 28, are scheduled for sentencing after they each robbed a bank last year. They were chased down after their last heist — a holdup in which they had their two young children in the car.
Forty-year-old James Carey of Midvale will spend 10 years in federal prison after he robbed a Salt Lake City bank a year ago with a BB gun, Barlow said. Police chased him at high speeds as Carey threw the money from the car.
They will almost surely be caught the first time. If they're not caught the first time, if it takes multiple times to catch them, they will be eventually caught.
–Chris Burbank, Salt Lake Police Chief
Barlow said David Evans, 43, of Magna will be sentenced Wednesday for robbing two banks in September. He admitted to investigators he showed the teller a handgun, and handed her a note that read: "This is a robbery, don't make it a murder."
For anyone contemplating bank robbery, Barlow said they should consider this:
"They will almost surely be caught the first time. If they're not caught the first time, if it takes multiple times to catch them, they will be eventually caught."
On average, the U.S. attorney said, sentences range from four to eight years for unarmed bank robberies, 10 to 20 years for armed robberies. All of that is federal prison time, and Barlow said the criminals typically make off with a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand at the most.
"You will generally get caught after the first offense," he said. "If you're not, if you're caught after subsequent offenses, you'll be charged for the subsequent offenses, too."
