MANSFIELD, Ohio – Employees at Richland Bank on Cook Road returned to work Tuesday morning a little shaken but unharmed after a robbery at the 460 W. Cook Road location.
Two subjects entered the parking lot in a Saturn four door, burgundy in color vehicle with no front plate. According to Lt. Rob Skropits from the Mansfield Police Department, at approximately 4:59 p.m. on Monday evening – just before closing – two subjects entered the bank and brandished guns before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money.
There were no customers inside the bank at the time of the robbery. Richland Bank President John Brown praised his staff for handling the situation very well.
“We are very intent on providing our staff the type of training that’s necessary to deal with these situations, and they handled it admirably,” said Brown. “At the end of the day the primary goal of any robbery is to get them out as quickly as possible and to keep everyone safe.”
Brown noted the number of bank robberies has been down across the industry over the past decade – the last robbery at Richland Bank’s Cook Road location was approximately 15 years ago – but the industry usually reflects a slight increase in robberies right around the holidays.
“If there was a time where you would see a higher instance rate of robbery it’s usually around the holidays,” said Brown. “It’s often a time of desperation or people are feeling trapped.”
The Mansfield Division of Police Major Crimes Unit followed up several leads and identified a person of interest. Detectives along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are asking for any information regarding the bank robbery.
Detective Ron Packer of the Mansfield Police Department is seeking additional information on the car or the person of interest. Citizens are encouraged to contact him if they have any information at 419-755-9729. Special Agent Yingling of the Federal Bureau of Investigation can be reached at 419-525-2200.
