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Suspected bank robber in jail
By CARRIE JOHNSON
© St. Petersburg Times, CLEARWATER -- A man suspected of robbing a Crystal River Bank branch in April reportedly surrendered to the FBI in Clearwater last week. Mark A. King, 43, of Cleveland is being held in lieu of bail in the Pinellas County Jail as a fugitive from justice in connection with an alleged forgery in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. King has also been charged with robbing a bank in Ocala in December 2000. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office was notified of King's arrest Monday, said spokeswoman Ronda Hemminger Evan. "He is believed to be a suspect in the Crystal River robbery, but whether he has confessed to it, I don't know," she said. King has not yet been questioned by Citrus Sheriff's Office investigators, Evan said. Sara Oates, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Tampa office, said on Monday that she could not release any information about King or his alleged confession. Lt. Barry Shrum of the Ocala Police Department said King turned himself in July 5. King is suspected in eight bank robberies, five of them in Florida. "He probably knew everyone was looking for him and turned himself in," Shrum said. "That's the way it usually works." King allegedly walked into an Ocala Region's Bank in December, handed the teller a note demanding money and walked out with an undisclosed amount of cash, Shrum said. The man wearing a shirt and tie who robbed the Crystal River Bank on April 3 used the same method. No weapon, no threats, no mask. Two tellers and a branch manager were the only employees in the bank during the 9:45 a.m. Crystal River robbery. No one was injured. The suspect fled the bank's State Road 44 branch office in a light blue, late-model Ford or Mercury car. King is also suspected in at least one bank robbery in Alachua County, Shrum said. A spokeswoman from the Alachua County Sheriff's Office said she could not confirm that Monday.
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Citrus Times Jan Glidewell |
