Man appears in court in Umpqua Bank robbery

A 28-year-old man appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court in connection with a robbery at a Vancouver Umpqua Bank branch in October.

Justin D. Taylor of Vancouver — recently arrested on a warrant by the U.S. Marshal’s Service — pleaded not guilty to first-degree robbery. His trial will start Feb. 6.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Oct. 21, a woman entered the Umpqua Bank at 11515 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd., and presented a note to the teller, which read, “Give me the money, don’t try anything, be (quick) and hurry, no sudden (movements),” according to a probable cause affidavit.

The bank teller said after she saw the note, she stared at the robber and told her, “I can’t move.” The robber replied, “Yes you can,” the affidavit states. The teller noticed the woman had her hand in her purse, she said, and told her, “Don’t make me do something I don’t want to do.” She then gave the robber $473, court records said.

Vancouver police responded to the bank and obtained video surveillance of the woman, as well as the note she left behind, according to court documents.

Police later learned that two men, one believed to be Taylor, allegedly put the woman up to the robbery and drove her to the bank, according to the affidavit. Bank employees said they noticed a suspicious-looking man in the bank at the time of the robbery, and at least one employee thought he may have been a “diversion,” the affidavit said.

Eleven fingerprints found on the note during crime lab testing came back as a match to Taylor, according to court documents. Police said the image of the man acting suspicious inside the bank also appears to be Taylor, court records state.