DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 1997            TAG: 9711250584

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER  
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   27 lines

ARMED PAIR ROB BANK IN DOWNTOWN SUFFOLK

Two men, one with a handgun, robbed a downtown bank about 12:30 p.m. Monday.

Police said the men entered the back door of Crestar Bank, in the 100 block of North Main Street, and demanded money from a teller in the lobby. They left with a bank bag containing money and a dye pack, which exploded, said police spokesman Mike Simpkins.

The pair ran out the back door toward Saratoga Street, then apparently headed toward Washington Street, he said.

About 10 police officers canvassed nearby neighborhoods and interviewed potential witnesses but were unable to locate the suspects. They were described only as black and wearing dark clothes, one with a shirt pulled up to partially conceal his face. One had on a ball cap, and the other was wearing a gray jacket with a black stripe on the sleeve.

Two men, believed to be the bank robbers, had been seen hanging around Main Street before the robbery, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 925-6350, or Crime Line at 539-1222. KEYWORDS: BANK ROBBERY

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