Denver, Colorado

From the Denver Daily News of February 9, 2007

Citizen catches robbery suspect

A bank robber was behind bars yesterday and all the stolen money was recovered thanks to the quick thinking and assistance of a good Samaritan.

Denver area resident John Adams was in the process of paying his mortgage at a Washington Mutual bank at 1705 Sheridan Blvd., at around 3 p.m., when he noticed a man walking away from the TCF Bank located directly next door at 1709 Sheridan Blvd, near Sloan’s Lake Park.

Adams’ antennas went up when he realized that the man walking away from the bank was holding a small grocery-like bag with red dye pouring out of it.

‘Funnier than crap’

“There was red smoke coming out of it, but he had no idea what was happening,” Adams told the Denver Daily News yesterday. “It was funnier than crap.”

Mr. Adams quickly told his broker that he may have spotted a bank robber, finished up his mortgage payment transaction, then called 9-1-1 from his cell phone. He was on the corner of 17th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Edgewater at the time, but the 9-1-1 call went to the Denver police dispatch.

Let police do their jobs

Denver police asked Adams for a description of the suspect and his location while Adams proceeded to jump in his car and carefully follow the man.

Adams has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but he said he felt no need to draw his weapon — he wanted to leave the police work up to the police.

“Why don’t you give us gun rights guys a plug?” Adams commented about his use of extreme caution and patience with a gun.

Persistance pays off

After losing the suspect for about three minutes, Adams caught up to the man again as the suspect entered an alley between Sheridan Boulevard and Zenobia Street near Colfax Avenue.

The suspect was in the process of taking off his sweatshirt that had been splattered with dye.

The man then moved out of the alley into a nearby motel parking lot when Adams noticed an Edgewater patrol car cruising up in the area. Adams flagged the officer down and in about 45 seconds, the Edgewater Police Department and the Denver Police Department together took the suspect into custody without incident.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do,” Adams said. “I have a concealed carry permit like a million other guys, but I didn’t see any reason to pull my weapon out. I was not in any danger.”

Money recovered

All the dye-covered money was recovered from the suspect who is believed to have robbed the TCF Bank.

“A special thank you is directed to the very alert and concerned citizen, Mr. John Adams,” said Denver Police spokeswoman Det. Virginia Quiñones. “Without his involvement, it is not known whether or not this suspect would have been apprehended.”

Although his gun wasn’t “used”, having it surely gave him self-confidence to do what he did.