LITTLE ROCK — They came looking for the big money, but left carrying pockets full of change.
Rolled pennies.
Nickels and dimes.
Quarters.
Two men broke into the First National Branch Bank in Lakeview, a resort town on the southeast shore of Bull Shoals, about 11 p.m. Sunday.
They made off with several hundred dollars’ worth of coins.
The pair, who police said wore masks and hooded sweatshirts, pried the main entrance door open with a small bar and then riffled through drawers.
When they couldn’t open a safe where the bills were stored, they opted for the next best thing: coins.
Bank President Joe Miles said the two found a large stash of rolled coins under a cabinet. He wouldn’t say how much was taken, only several hundreds of dollars in change and one trash can.
“When they discovered the coins, they salvaged their efforts rather than going away empty handed,” Miles said.
“If they had enough time and a big enough bar and enough strength, maybe they could have pried open the safe.”
Video taken from bank security cameras show the two suspects poured the coins into a trash can taken from under a bank employee’s desk. One suspect left, the other returned but apparently didn’t take anything else.
They were in the bank for nine minutes, said Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
“Our hope is that someone who sees the suspects trying to cash a large amount of coins will call us,” Montgomery said. “We’ll run every lead down.”
The video shows one suspect wore a white or light gray hooded sweatshirt with a design on the front. Montgomery said he didn’t recognize the design, but assumes it’s a brand logo. The other suspect wore a dark colored hooded sweatshirt.
The two were pretty bold to break into the bank, Miles said.
Even though Lakeview has only 531 residents, a subdivision is located behind the bank, and there are some businesses scattered around. At night, the Baxter County sheriff’s deputies are within a 15-minute driving time of the town.
“They may have been motivated by the current economic situation,” Miles said, referring to the country’s recession.
Police asked anyone with information about the burglary to call the Baxter County sheriff’s office at (870) 425-7000 or the Lakeview Police Department at (870) 431-8744.
Arkansas, Pages 18 on 09/22/2010