A local bank robber’s spree came to an end shortly after it began last week, after he was captured following a daring double heist at two Banner Bank branches in two South Lane towns.
On Tuesday, Sept. 9, around 1:30 p.m., Cottage Grove Police responded to a report of a robbery at Banner Bank at 25 Gateway Blvd.
According to investigators, an adult white man entered the bank and handed a note to a teller, demanding cash before fleeing the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.
Then, about half an hour later at 2 p.m., Lane County Sheriff’s deputies responded to another Banner Bank robbery call – this one in Creswell – for an armed robbery. The suspect allegedly used the same method of giving the teller a note demanding cash and threatening the bank teller.
The suspect – described as a white male adult, about 6’ tall, weighing about 175 pounds, medium build, with a full beard – remained at large, and was considered a public threat until the next day, on Sept. 10, when Lane County Sheriff’s detectives determined that Clarke Chaos Zyz, 37, of Eugene, was their suspect. Police learned that Zyz likely had a residence in the Eugene area, and Eugene Police detectives and officers began searching.
At about noon, while surveilling a possible residence in the area of Green Acres Road, Eugene Police detectives located Zyz in the suspect vehicle, a two-door 1998-2003 gold Ford Escort ZX2.
Detectives and police officers contacted and detained the suspect without incident.
Zyz was arrested and lodged at the Lane County Jail for the following charges related to the robberies in Creswell and Cottage Grove, including two charges on all counts of Robbery in the 2nd Degree, Menacing, and Disorderly Conduct in the 2nd Degree.
