Man Arrested for Silver Spring Bank Robbery

Police have arrested one man for the Aug. 26 robbery of a downtown Chevy Chase Bank but are still looking for suspects from a July robbery and an attempted robbery at two other Silver Spring banks.

Carl Coleman Purvis Jr., 42, of Washington, D.C., was charged with armed robbery and theft on Aug. 26 after Montgomery County Police said he robbed the Chevy Chase Bank at 8315 Georgia Avenue. Police said that Purvis passed a note to the teller around 2:15 p.m. that demanded cash and implied he had a weapon.

The suspect left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and was found walking on Georgia Avenue toward East-West Highway by police. A description provided by a witness helped the police find him. Purvis was taken into custody, and the cash from the bank was recovered.

On July 16, the Wachovia at 8701 Georgia Ave. was robbed, and a few days later an attempted robbery took place at the SunTrust Bank across the street at 8700 Georgia Ave. The descriptions of the suspects in these cases were very similar: In the first case, the suspect was described as a black male in his 30s, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds. In the second, the suspect was described as a black male in his 40s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds. No arrests in these cases have been made.

These robberies are getting a mixed reaction from Silver Spring residents — mainly because crime hasn't been a major issue for the community, they said.

"It doesn't bother me," said Bill Diatch, who grew up in Silver Spring. "What matters is that the police caught the suspect. Hopefully, this will deter anyone else from trying to steal."

Ellen Jenkins who works at Wolfman and Associates just blocks away from the banks said that she was surprised to hear about what happened and thinks of Silver Spring as a very safe neighborhood.

"It makes me think twice about going to the ATM machine in the dark," she said.

Police officials are still searching for suspects in the Wachovia and SunTrust Bank cases. Anyone who wants to remain anonymous can call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). If your tip leads to an arrest Crime Solvers will pay cash reward of up to $1,000.