Police: Man robs 3rd Bellingham bank, waits for cops

For the third time in just over a year, a Bellingham man robbed a bank and waited outside to be arrested Monday, Nov. 2, according to police.

Richard Kenneth Gorton, 65, handed a note to a teller around 10:30 a.m. in a Peoples Bank branch at 4183 Meridian St. The note said he was robbing the bank, had a knife and wanted a specific amount of cash, said Bellingham Police Sgt. Mike Scanlon.

Outside the bank officers found Gorton, who matched the suspect description: bald, white, 60s, blue jacket, thick black glasses.

Gorton never showed a knife to the teller, and police did not find a knife on him. He told police he committed the robbery because he was losing his housing — the same explanation he’d given twice before, Scanlon said.

On Oct. 14, 2014, Gorton walked into a Banner Bank on Cornwall Avenue and handed a note to a teller: “This is a robbery,” according to court records. He asked for twenty $20 bills and ten $100 bills, tucked the money into a brown leather backpack, and walked outside to wait for police.

He told officers he was being evicted and would rather be in jail than homeless. Court records showed he hadn’t paid his $212 rent that October at his Bellingham Housing Authority apartment on York Street.

Prosecutors charged him with robbery in the first degree, and in January, he pleaded guilty to slightly reduced felony charges. Superior Court Judge Ira Uhrig sentenced Gorton to six months in county jail. Half of that time could be nixed, however, if he lived in transitional housing for 90 days and used that grace period to find a more permanent home.

On April 13, about six months after the first robbery, Gorton walked into a Key Bank in Fairhaven. He gave another note to the teller explaining that that he didn’t want to hurt anyone, and that he was unarmed. He wanted to rob $1, according to court records. He said he would wait outside for police. He did.

He gave police the same explanation about being homeless soon.

That time, prosecutors declined to seek a felony conviction. Gorton was charged with theft in the third degree, a gross misdemeanor. A District Court judge sentenced him to eight days in jail and two years on probation. Also, he was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation, according to the county prosecutor’s office.

Gorton had no other criminal history.

Last week in Blaine another man, Gregory Jason Walker, 49, was arrested on suspicion of a similar robbery at a U.S. Bank at 280 H St.

Police said Walker gave a note to a teller saying he was robbing the bank. Officers found him sitting outside with the cash and a note. He surrendered both, according to police, and admitted to being inside the bank. He offered no further explanation.

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Police: Man robs 3rd Bellingham bank, waits for cops."