A prosecutor on Monday trying an alleged serial bank robber told the jury that “This isn’t going to be a case of, ‘What happened?’ This is a case of ‘Who done it?'”
Senior Deputy Prosecutor James Smith offered a roughly 10-minute opening statement to Clark County Superior Court jurors in Marx Wayne Coonrod’s robbery trial.
Coonrod, 62, of Scappoose, Ore., is accused of robbing an Umpqua Bank at 10705 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., twice and making a third attempt within a three-month span in 2016. He is charged with three counts of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree attempted robbery.
His defense attorney, John Terry, reserved his opening statement until the prosecution rests its case.
Smith summarized the case against Coonrod in terms of what was taken — cash — and what was left behind — a beanie.
“Marx Coonrod was a man on a mission in February, March and April of 2016,” Smith said.
On Feb. 1, 2016, a man wearing a dark-colored, hooded jacket, a dark beanie and scarf walked into the bank shortly after 10:30 a.m., according to an affidavit of probable cause. Witnesses described the man as being an average height, and having a heavy build and distinctive, almost limping walk, Smith said.
The man, whose face was covered by the scarf, walked up to the counter “with determination,” Smith said.
“This is a robbery. I’m not joking. Give me all of your $100s and $50s,” the man said, according to the affidavit.
Bank employees gave him about $1,690. No weapons were displayed before he left on foot and walked east from the bank, the affidavit said.
Smith told the jury that bank employees took time off work following the incident.
“He also takes a lot of the safety and security of the folks that work there,” Smith said of Coonrod.
After unsuccessfully searching for the man, police found fresh tire tracks in the mud and a blue, knit beanie in a nearby alley, court records said.
Shortly after 10 a.m. March 16, a man wearing a hooded jacket, blue jeans, dark-colored gloves, sunglasses and a blue bandana over his face walked into the same bank. One of the employees immediately recognized him as the man who had robbed the bank branch in February, according to court documents.
Employees, some in tears, hid behind counters as the man charged into the bank, Smith said.
“People see him and immediately say, ‘Oh no. It’s the same guy.’ It’s essentially pandemonium inside,” he said.
The suspect again demanded $100 and $50 bills without displaying a weapon. At one point, the man said “andale, andale!” in an attempt to expedite the process, Smith said. Employees gave the man $4,850 before he fled the bank to the east, the affidavit said.
Witnesses provided a description that was similar to the previous robber. They also went outside after the second robbery to see the suspect’s direction of travel and saw a white pickup with an extended cab and ladder rack turn east onto Fourth Plain Boulevard from a nearby business, court records said.
DNA from the beanie in the first robbery came back as a match to Coonrod after it was processed through Washington State Patrol and FBI databases, according to the affidavit. Investigators also learned Coonrod had been arrested for a series of Vancouver bank robberies in 2006 and 2007, reportedly wore a similar disguise in those robberies and walked with what appeared to be a limp, according to court documents.
Coonrod was sentenced in 2008 to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing a Washington Mutual Bank branch in the Minnehaha area in 2006 and planning to rob two others, court records say.
Investigators discovered that Coonrod owned a white 2006 Ford Ranger pickup. They located and watched him at his Oregon residence, and observed him driving the truck, which matched the description of the getaway vehicle, court records said.
On April 22, 2016, a man approached the front of the same Umpqua Bank branch wearing camouflage pants, gloves and a hooded sweatshirt but turned around and left upon seeing a security guard, the affidavit said. An employee at an insurance company next to the bank took photos of a white pickup leaving the area.
“They don’t get a great look at his face, but they see his build. They see him walking,” Smith said. “It’s the same guy.
Coonrod was arrested in May 2016 in Columbia County, Ore., and extradited to the Clark County Jail. The arrest came during a traffic stop as Coonrod was driving his white pickup, Smith said.
After obtaining search warrants, police found camouflage pants in the truck and a blue bandana at his residence, Smith said.
Coonrod told police in an interview he went to the bank on April 22 to break a $100 bill and that he parked in the alley, Smith said. Coonrod also noted he was experiencing pain from a recent hip surgery.
His trial continues today.
