Apprehension Story of the Month

On Thursday at 2:30p.m., Sonitrol of S.W. Washington's operators-on-duty Julie Anderson and Rachel Maddy received an emergency hold-up (panic) alarm at Riverview Community Bank located in Hazell Dell, a community in Vancouver, Washington. The live audio was activated as a result of the hold-up alarm activity and Sonitrol was able to confirm immediately that two female tellers inside in the bank were in great distress as they were being held up in a robbery attempt.

Sonitrol notified the Clark County police dispatcher and within four minutes, the police arrived on the scene. Unfortunately, the robbers took off too quickly and the responding officers soon learned from a witness that the getaway vehicle was traveling on I-5 north bound.

As a result, the officers followed suit, forced the van to pull over and arrested the two male perpetrators involved. They were able to verify that the individuals were involved in the robbery due to video surveillance at the bank that captured their image. Thanks to the teamwork and quick response between Sonitrol, the Clark County police, and the unidentified witness that made this apprehension possible!

Here is the published local newspaper article pertaining to this incident:

Deputy just happens to be behind van sought in heist
By John Branton, Columbian staff writer

A canny witness and fortunate sheriff's deputy teamed up to catch two Centralia men who allegedly robbed a bank in Hazell Dell and were headed home on Interstate 5, officers said. Clifford C. Uptegrove, 41, and James Ray Davis, 44, both of Centralia, were arrested along I-5 just south of Woodland on Thursday afternoon on suspicion of robbery, said Clark County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Cooke.
The suspects offered no resistance.

About 2:30p.m. Thursday, Cooke said, a man who reportedly had a handgun held up Riverview Community Bank at 7735 N.E. Highway 99. The robber fled with some cash on a bicycle. Several blocks away, a witness saw a man putting a bicycle into a brown conversion van with a white extended top and called 911 with a detailed description of the vehicle.

The witness, who was unidentified Thursday evening, may have noticed patrol cars converging on the area, police said.

"I don't know if they knew there was a robbery or not, but they knew something was up," Cooke said.

AT 2:36P.M., Deputy Gary Denham radioed that he was following such a van north on I-5 from Northeast 179th Street, near Clark County Fairgrounds. Other officers headed that way.

Police in Woodland said they were ready to throw spike strips that can puncture a car's tires onto the freeway if the van got that far.

Minutes later, officers turned on their flashers and the van pulled over just south of Woodland. Officers blocked all the northbound lanes briefly, then kept only the right lane blocked for at least a half-hour to provide a safety zone for officers working on the shoulder.

Denham, who was in his patrol car and heard about the robbery on his radio, just happened to be "in the right place at the right time," Cooke said. It's a once in a career kind of thing."

About Sonitrol:
Sonitrol Corporation is the leading provider of Verified Response security solutions for businesses and schools in North America. Founded by a policeman, the company's technology was created to reduce false alarms and increase apprehensions. Sonitrol's proprietary audio verification capability has assisted local law enforcement in the apprehension of more than 155,000 suspects since 1977. Its integrated suite of offerings includes audio intrusion alarms, access control, video surveillance and fire detection. For more information on Sonitrol and its integrated security solutions, please visit the company's website at www.sonitrol.com.