Scranton Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested Minutes After Hold-Up
By: Eric Deabill
Updated: December 12, 2012
Scranton, Lackawanna County - A suspected bank robber in Scranton didn't get far Wednesday morning.
Just minutes after the heist, investigators say the man was caught by quick-thinking police who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
The robbery happened just after 9:00 AM at the PennStar bank on Meadow Avenue in South Scranton.
Tellers were able to give police a good description of the man so that was broadcast county-wide. A Scranton police officer heard the description and recognized the suspect as he was walking on Harrison Avenue.
His freedom came to an end at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Linden Street.
Eyewitnesses say the neighborhood quickly was flooded with police cars.
"We saw the police car going down and we saw the white car, we don't know who that was, behind them and he stopped directly on the corner of Linden and Harrison," eyewitness Madeln Pfleckl said. "We saw the guy get out of the white van behind the police car. We didn't know what was going on. We were kinda wondering."
Cops identify the suspect as Robert Demcher of Scranton.
He is accused of handing the bank teller a handwritten note saying he had a gun but he never showed one.
He made his brief get-away with more than $3,000 in cash.
"I'm so impressed with the Scranton police department, always have been," Paige Balitski said. "I think that people don't realize what it takes to be a police officer."
When he was caught, police say Demcher had the stolen money in his sweatshirt.
He didn't answer any questions as he was put into the back of a police vehicle but once questioned at police headquarters, investigators say he also confessed to a robbery on Tuesday night.
Police say Demcher admitted robbing the Turkey Hill in the 1400-block of Mulberry Street.
The 51-year-old told detectives he wore the same clothes but changed his baseball hat.
Just minutes after the heist, investigators say the man was caught by quick-thinking police who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
The robbery happened just after 9:00 AM at the PennStar bank on Meadow Avenue in South Scranton.
Tellers were able to give police a good description of the man so that was broadcast county-wide. A Scranton police officer heard the description and recognized the suspect as he was walking on Harrison Avenue.
His freedom came to an end at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Linden Street.
Eyewitnesses say the neighborhood quickly was flooded with police cars.
"We saw the police car going down and we saw the white car, we don't know who that was, behind them and he stopped directly on the corner of Linden and Harrison," eyewitness Madeln Pfleckl said. "We saw the guy get out of the white van behind the police car. We didn't know what was going on. We were kinda wondering."
Cops identify the suspect as Robert Demcher of Scranton.
He is accused of handing the bank teller a handwritten note saying he had a gun but he never showed one.
He made his brief get-away with more than $3,000 in cash.
"I'm so impressed with the Scranton police department, always have been," Paige Balitski said. "I think that people don't realize what it takes to be a police officer."
When he was caught, police say Demcher had the stolen money in his sweatshirt.
He didn't answer any questions as he was put into the back of a police vehicle but once questioned at police headquarters, investigators say he also confessed to a robbery on Tuesday night.
Police say Demcher admitted robbing the Turkey Hill in the 1400-block of Mulberry Street.
The 51-year-old told detectives he wore the same clothes but changed his baseball hat.
