SEATTLE -
UPDATE AS OF 11/02/09: The FBI Robbery Task Force, SPD North Patrol and Shoreline P.D. arrested bank robbery suspect Thomas Hopkins at a motel in Shoreline Sunday. He tried to rob the bank at the Columbia Center last Monday.
---------------ORIGINAL STORY--------------------- The search is on for a convicted bank robber who just got out of prison, and is now accused of hitting the same bank he held up 3 times in 2002.
Talk about timing - bad for Thomas Hopkins - good for the law.
Seattle police and the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Taskforce say on Monday, October 26th, Hopkins tried to rob the Bank of America in downtown Seattle's Columbia Center.
Problem is, he did it right in front of a police captain.
The captain told Hopkins to stop and show his hands, but Hopkins refused and walked out to a waiting taxi.
Then, cops say Hopkins threatened the taxi driver, who jumped out of the car and ran away..
Police say Hopkins tried to drive off, but couldn't get the taxi into gear. So, he also got out and ran away.
Cops and SWAT teams then swarmed the cab, where a second person was sitting in the back. She refused to listen to authorities, so they fired a wooden pellet from a shotgun to blow out the back window.
That did the trick! She got out of the cab and police rushed in to check out the taxi cab.
She was questioned, but police are only looking for Hopkins right now.
Here's the details on Thomas Hopkins:
---------------ORIGINAL STORY--------------------- The search is on for a convicted bank robber who just got out of prison, and is now accused of hitting the same bank he held up 3 times in 2002.
Talk about timing - bad for Thomas Hopkins - good for the law.
Seattle police and the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Taskforce say on Monday, October 26th, Hopkins tried to rob the Bank of America in downtown Seattle's Columbia Center.
Problem is, he did it right in front of a police captain.
The captain told Hopkins to stop and show his hands, but Hopkins refused and walked out to a waiting taxi.
Then, cops say Hopkins threatened the taxi driver, who jumped out of the car and ran away..
Police say Hopkins tried to drive off, but couldn't get the taxi into gear. So, he also got out and ran away.
Cops and SWAT teams then swarmed the cab, where a second person was sitting in the back. She refused to listen to authorities, so they fired a wooden pellet from a shotgun to blow out the back window.
That did the trick! She got out of the cab and police rushed in to check out the taxi cab.
She was questioned, but police are only looking for Hopkins right now.
Here's the details on Thomas Hopkins:
- Age: 41
- Ht: 6'0"
- Wt: 180 lbs
- Hair: Black
- Eyes: Brown
