SPRING HILL - The Sheriff's Office is searching for the masked man who robbed the Compass Bank in Spring Hill Thursday afternoon.
Wearing a ski mask, dark sunglasses and gloves, the man walked into the bank at 401 Mariner Blvd. around 12:50 p.m., displayed a semiautomatic handgun and demanded cash. There were seven employees but no customers in the bank at the time, sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joseph Paez said.
"He did not actually point (the gun) at anyone," Paez said.
The man then placed an undisclosed amount of money into a white plastic bag and ran from the bank.
After the robbery, bank employees closed the doors and locked themselves in a back room. When sheriff's deputies arrived, they were unable to say what direction the man fled.
"They are in there for one thing - the cash and go," said Paez, explaining how quickly the incident occurred.
The man is 5-feet-11 and was last seen wearing a plaid jacket, black work boots and Tommy Hilfiger jeans. Paez said that because the suspect wore a mask and gloves, investigators could not determine his race.
Thursday's holdup was the second bank robbery in the Spring Hill area in about three weeks and the fifth such incident in Hernando County in the past year. On Nov. 10, a robber wearing a blue fleece jacket leaped over the counter at the SunTrust Bank, 10 Commercial Way in Spring Hill, and grabbed a handful of money.
Paez says there is no link between the two recent bank robberies.
"We don't view having two incidents in the last few weeks as anything but coincidental," said Paez said. "Typically, all types of crimes increase during this time of year."
Meanwhile, the robbery inconvenienced many customers, including Elissa Dube, who needed to make a deposit - fast.
"If I don't make a deposit by 2 p.m., the check for a car payment will bounce," said Dube, 30, of Spring Hill.
After learning that the bank would remain closed while investigators and bank officials examined the scene, Dube jumped back into her car in a huff.
"It's just not my day," she said.
- Duane Bourne can be reached at 352 754-6114. Send e-mail to dbourne@sptimes.com
