Police: Would-be Speers robber believed to be man who hit Carmichaels bank
A Donora man arrested late Friday afternoon for allegedly trying to rob a Speers bank may be the same man who robbed a Carmichaels bank last week, police said.
Aaron Lee Huey, 39, of 517 Ohio Ave., was arrested Friday night when he came to the Donora police station after agreeing to meet with FBI agents. Authorities say he was driving the white Chevrolet Malibu that he drove off in after trying to rob the PNC Bank, 141 Pennsylvania Ave., in Speers. The person who robbed the PNC Bank branch in Carmichaels at gunpoint Wednesday also fled in a white Malibu.
Charleroi Regional police say Huey wore a dark, hooded shirt over his head, surgical mask and gloves, much like the suspect in Wednesday’s robbery at the PNC in Carmichaels, when he tried to rob the Speers bank only to find it was closed.
Police said Huey is seen on surveillance video driving to the bank and parking about 200 feet away on Pennsylvania Avenue (Route 88) about 4:37 p.m. Friday. He was wearing the shirt over his head with the mask covering his face and blue surgical gloves when he got out of his car. He walked to the bank doors and tried to open them, but the bank had just closed. Police said Huey then ran back to his parked car and removed the mask and gloves before getting into the vehicle. He then reportedly drove south on Route 88 and got on westbound Interstate 70. A witness was able to observe the man’s actions during the entire incident and gave police a description and information.
Charleroi police contacted the FBI, which determined that a black man fitting Huey’s description, also wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and blue surgical gloves, had robbed the Greene County bank armed with a large handgun, according to court documents.
Huey was called by FBI agents and agreed to meet them at the Donora police station. He arrived just before 7 p.m., driving a white Malibu and wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt.
State police would not comment on whether Huey had been positively identified as the Carmichaels robber.
Huey was arraigned before District Judge Ethan Ward on a charge of attempted robbery and placed in Washington County Jail on $250,000 bond. He is scheduled for an April 7 preliminary hearing before District Judge Larry Hopkins.