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closePuyallup police play key role in apprehending 'River Rat Bandit'
Neil Pierson/of The Herald
Puyallup police were one of 12 agencies to partner in an advanced law enforcement network last week that resulted in the arrests of two men suspected of 18 armed robberies in the past two months.
Alexey Perez Hernandez, 32, was arrested at about 9:15 p.m. last Friday, Oct. 9, when he attempted to leave his residence in unincorporated Pierce County near Bonney Lake. He was charged on suspicion of three counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery, though additional charges are pending based on establishing his connection to other incidents.
Police believe Hernandez is the River Rat Bandit, so named because of the criminal’s numerous heists in Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., on opposing sides of the Columbia River.
Oles was charged on suspicion of five counts of robbery and police believe he was the getaway driver for Hernandez in multiple incidents.
Puyallup Lt. Scott Engle said Oles is a former reserve police officer with the town of Wilkeson. Investigators were still looking into Oles’ background this week and couldn’t establish a connection between his law enforcement background and possible help he gave to Hernandez but said he had worked in Wilkeson for two or three years.
Oles has no prior criminal convictions, police say, while Hernandez was previously convicted of assaulting his ex-wife.
The suspects allegedly struck or attempted to strike eight banks and 10 check-cashing establishments throughout Portland, Vancouver, Pierce County and King County. The first incident occurred Aug. 7 in the Portland-Vancouver area and the last happened Oct. 2 at an Auburn bank.
Police received their first break in the case after the suspects robbed a payday loan store in Kent on Sept. 14.
Kent Det. Sgt. Dina Paganucci credited investigating Officer David Beerbower for noting in surveillance video that the suspect used his bare hand to touch a calendar at the robbery site. That allowed police to recover a fingerprint, which revealed the suspect on Oct. 9.
Kent police then “passed that information on to the other agencies involved because we had already learned that our suspect from the video was the River Rat bandit,” Paganucci said.
Local units from Auburn, Bonney Lake, Kent, Puyallup and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians quickly assembled later that day and began surveillance on the residence outside Bonney Lake. They were joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and SWAT teams from King and Pierce counties.
“This is a great case that focuses on teamwork among law enforcement agencies,” Engle said. “It was a phenomenal feat and we’re very, very pleased at having (the suspects) in custody.”
Police estimated about $100,000 was taken in the 18 robberies, including two successful attempts and one unsuccessful attempt in Puyallup.
Units executed a search warrant on the suspect’s residence on Oct. 10 and recovered money, clothing, gloves and sunglasses, which police say were worn during all of the River Rat Bandit cases.
Oles and his girlfriend own the property outside of Bonney Lake, located on the 20600 block of 108th Street Court East. Police don’t believe the girlfriend was involved and don’t anticipate charging her.
Engle said Hernandez and Oles had financial difficulties that may have served as motives for the crime spree. Hernandez was allegedly a painter having trouble finding work because of his status as a convicted felon.
Engle believed the main suspect may have “gotten sloppy and greedy in the Kent case and slipped up, and that provided Officer Beerbower and the rest of us an opportunity to get him.”
Engel said prosecutors from Portland, Vancouver, Pierce County and King County would determine the scope of charges and where trials might be held. The cases will likely be turned over to federal prosecutors, he added.
Puyallup Deputy Chief Bryan Jeter also credited the large, coordinated effort for apprehending the suspects quickly.
“Basically, (it was) about nine hours from when we found out who it was to when (Hernandez) was in handcuffs,” Jeter said.