Discarded clothing leads Bellingham police to suspect in Monday’s downtown bank robbery
Bellingham Police have arrested a 32-year-old man suspected of robbing a downtown Bellingham bank Monday morning.
Martin Mora-Lopez was booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery, according to a city of Bellingham news release Monday afternoon, Feb. 7. Jail records show Mora-Lopez was also booked on suspicion of third-degree theft.
Police were called to the robbery in the 1200 block of North State Street at 9:55 a.m. Monday, but the robber had already left the Key Bank branch before officers arrived, according to the release.
Bank employees reported that a man had come into the bank and demanded cash, the release states. While in the bank, the man implied that he had a gun, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
The employee gave him the cash, and the man reportedly left on foot, according to the release.
K9 Destro and his handler responded to the bank and tracked the robber away from the scene, but he was not located at that time, according to the release, though Destro was able to find several clothing items discarded by the man. Crime Scene Investigators collected the clothing and impounded it as evidence.
Another officer recognized Mora-Lopez from a trespassing call from earlier in the morning when he was wearing the same clothing, the release states.
Police located Mora-Lopez at approximately 1 p.m. Monday, and he was arrested.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 4:24 PM.
CORRECTION: Police updated charges against Martin Mora-Lopez since the first version of this story.
