Federal prosecutors have charged a 36-year-old convicted bank robber with holding up a North End bank branch last month.

Ezekiel T. Black is being detained at the federal detention center in SeaTac. He's been charged federally with one count of bank robbery for the July 6 holdup at Key Bank, 3917 N. 26th St.

The bank branch was robbed about 3:20 p.m. July 6. The bandit approached a teller and whispered, "This is a robbery. Remain calm," according to court documents. The robber fled after getting cash.

Tacoma police released to the media surveillance photos of the robbery suspect.

During the investigation, Black was developed as a possible suspect. He was contacted July 24 at his home and arrested after a short foot pursuit, charging documents state.

The Key Bank teller, Black's Department of Corrections community corrections officer and Black's girlfriend identified Black as the man in surveillance photos from the Key Bank robbery.

At the time of the Key Bank heist, Black was on federal probation for a previous bank robbery conviction. There also was a warrant for his arrest out of Texas.

A 20-year-old man was arrested Wednesday afternoon for reportedly robbing a bank in downtown Auburn and running from officers.

At about 11:30 a.m., the man walked into the Key Bank at 15 Auburn Ave., and used a note to demand money from the teller. He left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Within about 10 minutes, responding officers spotted the suspect. As they tried to contact the man, he ran. He was arrested east of downtown and the money was recovered. He is being held in the Auburn jail on suspicion of second-degree robbery.

Tacoma police detectives are thanking a man who helped them catch a bank robbery earlier this year.

The department gave George Rodkey a Certificate of Merit today for his efforts April 27.

According to detectives, Rodkey was inside Key Bank, 1120 S. 11 St., when it was robbed. The robber left the bank and got into a vehicle.

Rodkey followed the robber outside and got the license plate number of the getaway vehicle. He provided the information to officers.

Officers found the vehicle and arrested the two occupants, one of whom tried to run from officers, police department.

"Due to the diligence of Mr. Rodkey, who went beyond the level of being a simple witness to the robbery, a dangerous bank robber and his 'getaway driver' were arrested and taken off the street," the department citation reads. "For his invaluable assistance, the Tacoma Police Department is proud to present George Rodkey with the Certificate of Merit."

Tacoma police detective Tim Griffith said the department doesn't normally want citizens to put themselves in danger. However, Rodkey's information "made a huge impact," Griffith said.

"It isn't often that we encounter citizens willing to take such a dramatic step to help," Griffith said. "The people of Tacoma should be grateful that there are people like Mr. Rodkey living here."

Pierce County prosecutors have charged three men in connection with a home-invasion robbery south of Roy last week.

Prosecutors allege two of the men - 25-year-old Myron Romeo and 20-year-old Richard Weisenbach - went into the home and tied up both residents, according . The third man, 29-year-old Travis I. Calloway, is suspected of driving the getaway car. Investigators have said they believed the men might robbed the wrong people.

The three were charged with first-degree robbery with a firearm enhancement, unlawful possession of a firearm, theft of a firearm and felony harassment with a firearm enhancement.

Court documents provide the following information:

The victim told deputies he and his wife were in bed when a man appeared in the doorway and pointed a gun at them. The man, later identified as Romeo, wore a camo-style helmet, dark pants, black hi-top shoes and rubber gloves.

The robber threatened to kill the husband and wife several times and indicated he was serious as evidence by the rubber gloves. The robber directed the husband to pull the phone cord out of the wall, then used a phone charger cord to tie the hands and feet of the wife. The robber also shoved a sock in her mouth.

A second robber, identified as Weisenbach, wore a dark scarf over his face and used the light of his cell phone to look around the living room.

The robbers forced the husband to open his safe, then took a metal cash box. The husband was then forced to lie on the floor and his hands were tied behind his back with cords.

Weisenbach was reportedly talking on his phone and, at one point, told someone on the other end, "Turn around and come back," court documents state.

The robbers took a gun, the victims' laptop, prescription pills and savings bonds, then fled.

The victims managed to get free and called police.

A deputy spotted a car whose occupants matched the general description of the robbers. The driver, identified as Calloway, told deputies he didn't know anything about a robbery. Romeo appeared nervous and kept looking at the floorboards, where deputies spotted white pills.

A deputy asked Calloway if he could look inside the truck and Calloway agreed. The deputy spotted two army helmets and a flack jacket inside. The deputy ordered Calloway to the ground at gunpoint.

"Look, I didn't do the robbery," he reportedly told the deputy. "I was just giving them a ride."

Deputies took all three into custody. Beside the jacket and helmets, deputies found a small metal box, black computer case, small revolver and semi-automatic handgun in the trunk. They also found a cellphone and dark-colored rag on the ground outside of the passenger door.

Pierce County sheriff's deputies arrested three men early today after they broke into a Roy-area home, tied up the two residents and stole several items.

Based on statements the robbers' made during the incident, investigators suspect the men targeted the wrong house. Detectives were looking at whether the men might be tied to other recent home burglaries and robberies, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The men, ages 20, 25, and 29, were booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery.

The men broke into the home in the 6000 block of 322nd Street South about 1 a.m. They were wearing helmets and body armor and armed with guns.

They woke up a 59-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife, then tied them up and demanded their belongings, Troyer said. They also pointed a gun at the couple's dog.

The robbers took computers, cash, weapons and documents from house and fled, Troyer said.

The victims called 911 and provided deputies with a partial license plate of their attackers' car and descriptions of the robbers.

A deputy driving in the 27600 block of Eighth Avenue East passed a car that matched the description from the home-invasion robbery. The car contained three people who also matched the robbers' descriptions.

The deputy stopped the car and held the three men inside at gunpoint until other deputies arrived. The three men were taken into custody without incident.

Deputies impounded the car and were getting a warrant to search it.

Pierce County prosecutors have accused a 42-year-old man of robbing another man at gunpoint when the victim went to the apartment of a woman he met on a singles chat line.

Joey S. Sims is being held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. He was arrested late Tuesday and charged Wednesday with one count of first-degree robbery, with a firearm enhancement.

Charging documents provide the following information:

The victim told Tacoma police he'd been on a singles chat line when he spoke with a woman who lived in the 1000 block of South 14th Street. The two agreed to meet and he went to her apartment.

When he arrived, a woman answered the door and directed the victim to the bedroom. The only other person inside the apartment was an infant, the victim told officers.

The victim was undressing when a man with a rag over his face came into the bedroom, pointed a gun at the victim and told him to get on the floor.

The robber went through the victim's pockets and took his cash, iPhone, a debit card, driver's license and bank card.

"The male told him several times that if he called police, they knew where he lived and would come to his house and shoot him," court documents state. "The male asked several times, 'How much do you value your life?'"

The robber took the victim's belongings, then gave the victim his keys and told him to leave.

The victim left and called police from a fast-food restaurant. He was too afraid to go home alone and was escorted by officers.

Officers went to the address where the robbery occurred and contacted the woman who was described by the victim. Court documents note she was initially uncooperative but eventually told officers that Sims had been in the apartment when the victim came over.

During the robbery, Sims closed the bedroom door most of the way. The woman told officers she sat on the couch with her infant son, then moved into the bathroom until the two men left. She indicated she and Sims have robbed other people.

Officers contacted Sims at his home and arrested him.

UPDATE: The woman has not been arrested in connection with the robbery. She has been identified and the case remains under investigation, Tacoma police reported.

I didn't quite get to this one on Friday ...

Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against a 21-year-old man accused of robbing two Jiffy Lube shops while armed with a gun.

Willie S. Lewis is being held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. He was charged Thursday with three counts of first-degree robbery.

Court documents provide the details.

The first robbery occurred at the shop in the 12200 block of Meridian Avenue East on July 11. A man, later identified as Lewis, entered the shop's back door just after 7:10 p.m. He wielded a gun and demanded cash.

"When the employee asked if Lewis was joking, Lewis racked the slide of the gun and indicated it was not a joke," court documents state.

After getting an undisclosed of cash, Lewis fled. The employee provided deputies with a general description of the robber.

Eleven days later, the Jiffy Lube in the 2200 block of Mildred Street West in University Place was robbed. The robber walked into the service bay holding a gun on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m., just before closing time.

The robber, later identified as Lewis, demanded cash from the register and the employees' wallets and cell phones.

After the robbery, Lewis fled to a nearby car. Employees provided University Place officers with a partial license plate number of the getaway car. They also reported the robber had a specific tattoo on his neck.

"An employee also reported that prior to the robbery there he received a 'strange' telephone call from someone asking for directions," court documents state.

Lewis, a former Jiffy Lube employee, was identified as a suspect in the robberies. Tacoma police stopped a car driven by Lewis and arrested him late Wednesday. A gun was recovered from inside.

Prosecutors charged a second man in the University Place Jiffy Lube robbery. He's suspected of driving Lewis to and from the auto shop. The man claimed he drove Lewis to the Jiffy Lube because Lewis said he wanted to get a job application.

Fife police have arrested a young man on suspicion of robbing at knifepoint two juveniles who were walking home from summer school class at Fife High School.

The 20-year-old had previous convictions for robbery.

The victims, ages 16 and 17, reported they were walking home about 12:30 p.m. today when the suspect approached and demanded their personal belongings. The suspect wielded a knife and took the victims' backpacks and a laptop computer.

The robber fled. Officers found the suspect a short distance away. They found the victims' property.

Tacoma police are searching for a man who robbed a North End bank branch on Monday afternoon.

Detectives have released surveillance photos of the robber (seen here) in hopes of identifying him. Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges filed in the heist. Tipsters may remain anonymous. Call Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

The robbery occurred about 3:30 p.m. Monday at the Rainier Pacific Bank, 2525 N. Proctor St., police reported.

The man walked into the bank and put an envelope on the counter in front of a teller. The man leaned forward and, in a whisper, demanded cash from the teller, police reported.

The cash was put into the envelope and the robber fled on foot.

The robber is described as white, in his 40s and 5 feet 11 with an unshaven appearance. He sported a goatee-type beard and short, brown hair during Monday's heist. The robber wore a blue-and-black baseball hat with a black leather A on the front, sunglasses, a black T-shirt and dark blue jeans.

Investigators suspect the robber is the same man who hit the Key Bank at 3917 N. 26th St. on the afternoon of July 6.

That suspect was described as a white male in his 40s, about 5-foot-10 with medium to heavy build and was wearing a long-sleeved beige sweatshirt, grayish blue hat, blue jeans, glasses and was unshaven. He had dark colored hair.

Here's the surveillance photo released of the bank robber from the July 6 Key Bank robbery.

The Tacoma man accused of robbing two women and trying to sexually assault one of them pleaded not guilty on Monday to two counts of first-degree robbery.

Earl Lee Sherrod, 53, is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail. Prosecutors are trying to determine Sherrod's criminal history to see if a conviction would be his third "strike," which leads to a life sentence.

At about 11 p.m. on June 8, Sherrod reportedly confronted a woman at the Dome Transit Center near the Tacoma Dome. While reportedly holding a knife and threatening to stab her. he demanded cash, her cell phone, debit card and PIN. The woman surrendered her purse and Sherrod fled, court documents state. The incident was captured on surveillance video.

On July 13, Sherrod reportedly cornered a woman in an elevator at the Cedar Medical Center at South 19th and Cedar streets. He demanded sex and held a knife to the woman, police said. At some point, the door opened and the woman screamed. He got cash from the woman and fled.

Sherrod was arrested Saturday night while waiting for an elevator at the Olympus Hotel in downtown Tacoma.

Tacoma police arrested a teenage girl this week for allegedly helping her friends beat, tie up and rob her grandmother.

The girl and three other juveniles were booked into the Remann Hall juvenile detention center for investigation of robbery, authorities said. Their ages could not be determined Friday.

Authorities contend the three girls, a boy and a 20-year-old man on Wednesday bound the woman with duct tape, pummeled her with kitchen pots and pans then took her car and other items.

The attack allegedly took place in the woman's home in the 6000 block of South Gove Street.

Detectives believe the girl and her friends may be so-called "Juggalos," followers of the band Insane Clown Posse who are sometimes known to engage in criminal activity.

The juveniles could be charged as early as Monday, said Sue Sholin, a Pierce County deputy prosecutor.

The man who allegedly took part in the incident was charged Friday with one count of first-degree robbery.

Matthew Richard White pleaded not guilty and was ordered jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail.

A 46-year-old man wanted in connection with a Tacoma bank robbery turned himself into police Wednesday afternoon.

Kenneth Wolfe was booked into Pierce County Jail on one charge of first-degree robbery. He'll make his first court appearance this afternoon.

Prosecutors had previously charged Wolfe in the June 26 heist at Timberland Bank, 7805 S. Hosmer St. He also is a person of interest in the robbery July 6 at KeyBank at 3917 N. 26th St.

An arrest warrant had been issued last week and Wolfe's photograph released to the media.

On Wednesday afternoon, Wolfe called Tacoma police and said he wanted to turn himself in. Within five minutes, he showed up at the Yelm Police Department, Tacoma police reported.

A patrol car brought Wolfe to Tacoma, where he was booked into the jail.