Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 26, 1991                   TAG: 9102260352
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TWO MEN ROB ROANOKE COUNTY THRIFT

The CorEast Federal Savings Bank at 4094 Postal Road neat Virginia 419 was robbed about 9:25 a.m.

The men, wearing ski masks, entered the bank armed with handguns, according to Roanoke County Police Lt. Chuck Hart. The men demanded money from two cashiers and fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash.

There were no injuries.

Soon after the robbery, police saw that a dye pack that had been placed in the bag with the money had exploded in a grassy area near the bank, Roanoke County Investigator Ken Kern said.

Because they suspect that bright red dye will be on the robber's clothing or body or on the interior of a car, police are asking that anyone who notices red coloring on someone to report it to the Roanoke County Police Department at 561-8095 or to the Roanoke FBI office at 344-5561.

It was the second robbery of a CorEast this month. On Feb. 4, two men robbed the branch on Colonial Avenue near Towers Shopping Mall.

Roanoke County authorities also were checking to see if Monday's robbery could have been connected with a bank robbery in Lynchburg about three hours later.

There, two masked men walked into a Central Fidelity Bank shortly after 12:30 p.m. and took an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing. Police said the two men were carrying blue steel revolvers.