Bank robbery suspect quickly arrested
The reach of social media proved itself Tuesday in apparently solving a bank heist in downtown Butler.
Just minutes after surveillance photographs from the robbery at the Citizens Bank branch at 301 N. Main St. were posted on the city police department’s Facebook page, followers by the flock forwarded the suspect’s name.
Only five hours after the crime, police got an arrest warrant for 32-year-old Cyrus V. Smith of Butler Township.
By midnight police had their man, arresting him at a Butler Township motel.
Police began their investigation after a man walked into the bank about 10 a.m. and approached a teller with a handwritten “demand note” instructing the employee to turn over currency. The robber, wearing sunglasses and a Pittsburgh Steelers ball cap, brought with him a plastic shopping bag.
The note — written on an envelope — told the teller: “Empty out drawer. No alarms. I don’t wanna hurt you. I have a gun,” according to court documents.
The suspect handed the teller the plastic bag. The teller placed several stacks of currency in it and returned it to the robber who left with the money, later determined to be $3,095.
District Judge Pete Shaffer about 3 p.m. signed an arrest warrant for Smith on a charge of robbery.
Police arrested Smith about 10:30 p.m. at Motel 8 on Route 8.
