GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — A person is in custody after robbing the Chase Bank location in downtown Green Bay this morning.
Police Commander Kevin Warych says bank robberies aren’t a common occurrence in Green Bay, but when it happens, the department is ready.
“All hands on deck, and we roll out all resources to make sure we find the people responsible for committing these crimes,” Warych told WTAQ News. “Most importantly, we were able to respond quickly to assess the situation and ensure the safety of everybody inside that bank. Then have officers respond, which was very successful in us capturing the person of interest.”
The robbery was reported around 10:50 AM and less than an hour later at 11:43 AM, police made an arrest after a member of the public reported to police that the wanted suspect was currently in the lobby, awaiting a ride to the bus station. Officers responded and took the suspect into custody without incident. Officers recovered $20,467.75 in US currency from the suspect. That money will be held as evidence and eventually returned to the bank.
That Chase Bank location is located just a block away from the Green Bay Police Department.
“It’s alarming just from the fact that it’s a bank robbery. Second, it was a big surprise that it happened within a block of the police department,” Warych said. “We never report on assumption, but committing a crime that close to the police department, staying in the area, one would make you think that he didn’t know the lay of the land.”
“Terrific work as we have come to expect from our officers and detectives,” said Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith in a statement. “Apparently this out-of-town suspect wasn’t aware of the GBPD’s reputation for catching crooks. Also, I don’t think he realized both the bank he robbed and his get-away hideout were all within a block of Green Bay Police Headquarters.”
We will have more information as it becomes available.
