Walter Rice at hearing in bank robbery case
Two tellers from the Hixson branch of the Bank of America testified Tuesday they are positive that Walter Frank Rice is the individual who robbed them at gunpoint last July 25.
General Sessions Court Judge Lila Statom bound a bank robbery charge against Rice, 36, of 4734 Sabrina Lane, Hixson, to the Grand Jury.
She raised his bond on the bank robbery charge to $250,000, calling him "a danger to the community."
One teller said she was on her way into the bank on Northpoint Boulevard when a man put a gun to her back, then pushed her inside the bank.
She said he shifted the gun to her neck as he demanded another teller hand over a large pile of $100 bills she was counting from the night deposit.The money was placed in a draw string bag the robber had with him. He then fled with $33,000 in bank funds.
The teller who was counting the money said she thought her co-worker was walking oddly, then saw the gunman behind her. She said he had a black handgun.
The women said about a year after the holdup they were asked to look at a group of photos. Both said they had no doubt the one showing Rice matched the robber.
A detective earlier said on July 26 of this year he received a tip that the robber was Rice. He said he examined Rice's latest mugshot and driver's license photo and noticed "distinct similarities between his profile and the images of the suspect in the bank robbery. Aside from the face, neck, nose, ears, jaw line, beard and mouth being strikingly similar, the bank surveillance footage captured images of the suspect with a long, narrow bandage over the left side of his neck approximately half way down his neck."
He said the past photos showed that Rice has a tattoo on the left side of his neck at the location where the bandage was placed. The tattoo spells the name "ALMA."