After the dramatic capture Monday of two men charged with robbing a West Eugene bank, police have released the men’s names, recovered the stolen money and arrested a third man in connection with the hold-up.
Joshua Edward Hicks of Eugene and Wayne Taylor Wood, both 21, face federal charges for a robbery at Pacific Cascade Federal Credit Union at 1155 Chambers St. and have been transferred into the custody of the FBI. The third man, whose identity has not been released, was caught by police after one of the two men in custody told authorities that an accomplice was still in hiding.
Debi Hill, Pacific Cascade vice president of marketing, said less than $10,000 was stolen in the robbery. As of Tuesday afternoon, the credit union could not verify whether the money had been returned but Hill said there was a “good chance” of it happening. Hill said the West Eugene branch used to be a favorite target for criminals.
“We had a flurry of robberies at our Chambers Street branch about four years ago so we remodeled it,” she said, adding that Monday was the first time the location had been hit since the remodel.
One of the suspects allegedly walked into the credit union and presented a note demanding cash to the teller at 3:08 p.m. Monday. Roughly 10 minutes later, police tracked the man to a house two blocks west, where witnesses said he and another man fled after leaving the bank.
After more than a dozen squad cars surrounded the house at 1208 Grant St., Hicks, who identified himself as the renter, came out and surrendered to police officers. Wood took refuge in the attic until a K-9 unit scared him out of his hiding place several minutes later.
Police nabbed the third man about 10:30 that evening after they returned to the suspect’s house and a neighbor, whose house shared a common attic space, complained about loud noises upstairs. Authorities also recovered the stolen money.
Hill added that the credit union has enjoyed a high recovery rate after robberies.
“We’ve been fairly lucky,” she said. “Obviously the faster you catch them the more likely it is you’ll get funds back.”
According to the Eugene Resident Agency of the FBI, there were eight bank robberies in 2002. There have already been six this year, including Monday’s robbery.