Bank robber linked to downtown car theft
4/9/2005A man who robbed a South Toledo bank yesterday morning is suspected of taking a woman's car about an hour earlier in downtown Toledo, police said.
A man approached a teller at the Charter One Bank branch, 1460 South Byrne Rd., about 10:10 a.m., pulled out a navy blue or black folder or portfolio, and demanded money.
About an hour before the robbery, a man matching the description of the bank robber approached Mary Palinski, 54, in the parking lot at 1 Owens Corning Pkwy.
He demanded her keys. When she hesitated, he grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the side of the car.
He grabbed for her purse, but released it when she showed him the keys. He grabbed them and drove off in the car. A woman who Ms. Palinski alerted followed the suspect to I-75 and Collingwood Boulevard and saw him drive south on I-75 in the victim's 2002 Dodge Stratus, which may have been used in the bank holdup, police said.
The robber was described as white, 30 to 40 years old, about 6 feet tall, with a thin build and dark hair and eyes. He was wearing a dark shirt and pants and dark skull cap-type hat.
Police said witnesses at the bank said he had a tattoo on his right forearm, possibly of a skull; a pockmarked face, and slight facial hair.