Police Arrest Suspect In Connection To 4 Bank Robberies In South Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A homeless man has admitted to a string of bank robberies in south Minneapolis.
Police arrested 38-year-old Aaron Yashinsky following the robbery of the U.S. Bank on East Lake Street Friday afternoon. Investigators say they used video to follow him across the street to an apartment.
Police say Yashinsky walked into the bank and gave the teller a note demanding money. He said he had a gun, but never showed it.
After robbing the bank, investigators say their big break came when he walked across the street to the Midtown Global Market. It's the fourth bank robbed in south Minneapolis in four weeks.
When police got to the bank minutes after it was robbed, witnesses were able to give them a description of the man responsible. Officers immediately called the strategic information center to see if city cameras caught him getting away.
"They had spotted a white male in a jacket that was described in the robbery heading towards the global market just across the street from the U.S. Bank," Lt. Sean McGinty said.
Minneapolis Police partnered with the FBI and security from the Midtown Global Market. They pulled video from the 260 cameras in the building and were able to track his movement through the market.
"He's moving very quickly and he's using different accessories to change his appearance and not look at all like he did inside the bank," Sgt. Ryan McCann said.
After he changed his appearance, investigators say he tried to make his escape.
"He eventually found his way to a non-descript door in the back of the global market, to a door only used by residents that have access to the apartments above the global market," McGinty said.
Investigators showed photos from a previous bank robbery to building security who identified Yashinsky, a man they had barred from the property.
They learned he had been staying in a third floor apartment with friends. A search of that apartment gave them what they needed to arrest and charge Yashinksy.
"We recovered evidence of this incident clearly linking him and we were able to interview two people who had specific knowledge of what he was doing over the past month," McCann said.
Yashinsky told investigators he was responsible for robbing banks on Feb. 12, 17, 18 and the one last Friday.
He was recently released from prison for a 2013 conviction for bank robbery.
