UPDATE: Robber With Bad Handwriting Hits Chase Bank In Kirkland Red Apple

UPDATE, Jan. 23, 4:30 p.m.: The FBI has released surveillance images of the man who robbed the Chase Bank inside the Bridle Trails Red Apple Market in Kirkland Tuesday, calling him “The Mustachioed Bandit” because of his disguise. Also, a reward is being offered through Crime Stoppers for information that leads to his arrest. Please see the attached photo and PDF file. Here is more information from the FBI:

“Please see the attached flier for information about the robbery and a description of the subject, nicknamed “The Mustachioed Bandit.” In addition, please note that the subject is believed to have carried a weapon and to have fled the scene in a minivan.  The minivan was parked nearby and is described as a late 1990s or early 2000s, forest green-colored, Dodge or Plymouth Voyager-type minivan.  The subject entered the passenger side of the minivan.

The subject should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information that can help identify this individual is asked to call the FBI at 206-622-0460 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).  Callers to Crime Stoppers may remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $1000.00 if the information given leads to an arrest and charge of the person(s) involved.  (To be eligible for the reward, a person must provide the information through Crime Stoppers.)”

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Original story:

A lone man with bad penmanship robbed the Chase Bank inside the Red Apple Market in the Bridle Trails area of Kirkland Tuesday afternoon, yelling at a teller who could not decipher a note he gave her, according to Kirkland police.

The robbery occurred at about 3:30 p.m. inside the Red Apple at 6625 132nd Ave NE. It was at least the third bank robbery in Kirkland since early November. On Dec. 20, three men hit the nearby Bridle Trails Wells Fargo in a take-over type robbery.

The robber in Tuesday's heist is described as an Hispanic male in dark clothes and wearing a golfing-style Kangol cap. He escaped in an older green minivan missing hubcaps.

“He came in and handed the teller a note,” said Lt. Mike Murray, Kirkland Police Department spokesman. “The teller couldn’t read his handwriting. He yelled at her that it was a robbery, and showed what appeared to be the outline of a gun.”

Both Kirkland police and the FBI are investigating the case. Murray said the robber is definitely not the same person as one who has hit more than 20 small shops around the Eastside recently, at least seven of them in Kirkland. That robber is described as an Hispanic man, and he wears a "hoody" sweatshirt with a bandana covering his face.

“That’s a totally different guy,” Murray said.

Other recent Kirkland bank robberies include the Juanita Wells Fargo on Dec. 19 and the Key Bank along Juanita Drive on Finn Hill Nov. 2 -- the robber in that case was arrested, and that bank was also robbed last May 3.