FERNDALE, Wash. — The suspect in a December 2015 bank theft in Ferndale has been acquitted and found not guilty by a jury according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.
On December 10, 2015, Ferndale Police responded to a report of a robbery at the Ferndale branch of Key Bank. While there was an initial mention of a hostage situation, a teller told police a male called her saying he had a gun pointed at the branch manager. She said she was instructed to deliver money to a nearby remote location on Hovander Road. The box and bag reportedly used were recovered by investigators but not the cash.
Law enforcement located an empty box at the reported drop off location shortly after receiving the report. An investigation into the robbery began and involved multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The bank teller, Donna Ann Brown, age 54 at the time, surrendered voluntarily to Ferndale Police at the Whatcom County Jail 8 days later and was booked for 1st-degree theft. She was released from custody later that day under her own recognizance according to jail records. At the time of her arrest, Ferndale Police said Brown had not admitted to the theft and she had not spoken with police since hiring an attorney the day after the robbery. She was accused of taking over $30,000 in cash from the branch according to Ferndale Police.
Court records show a jury trial was scheduled to begin on August 29th and a jury verdict of not guilty came on September 8th.