Police are looking for a 29-year-old man in connection with a theft and attempted forgery at Wells Fargo Bank last week.
On Feb. 22, at about 11:51 a.m., Sweet Home police responded to a reported robbery at Wells Fargo.
Police have identified the suspect as Tihan Marnetieff, 5’7″ and 170 pounds with collar-length brown hair.
Upon arrival, bank employees told police that a male had entered the bank and tried to cash a suspicious check, Police Chief Bob Burford said. An employee obtained the suspect’s fingerprint on the document and then turned to make a call to verify its authenticity.
The suspect suddenly reached inside the teller’s window and grabbed a stack of cash that was part of an unrelated deposit transaction and fled the bank. Another bank employee and a customer chased the suspect to a car waiting nearby. The suspect got in the passenger seat, and he and an accomplice drove off.
Within 10 minutes of the call, police had located the car parked at the registered owner’s residence. One of the residents told police that he had picked up the suspect at Circle K and, at the suspect’s request, drove him to the bank.
He denied knowing that a crime was planned, Chief Burford said. The driver said that when he learned what happened, he made the suspect get out of the vehicle at Clark Mill Road and Highway 20.
The investigation is continuing, and police have classified the crime as a theft and an attempted forgery.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Marnetieff is asked to contact Sweet Home Police Department at 367-5181.