Bright Orange Sneakers Trip Up Oregon Robber’s Attempted Disguise
It was a pair of bright orange sneakers that helped police track down 60-year-old Lance Gregory Fluker, whose attempt at disguise with a black mask and black woolen hat failed after he robbed two credit unions in Portland on Saturday.
The Robber Demanded Large Bank Notes
Armed with a large knife, Fluker entered the Advantis Credit Union on N.E. 15th Ave., demanding that tellers hand him large bank notes – 100s and all the 50s – ‘I told you to give me yesterday.’ The man fled after two tellers handed him $1,865 in cash.
Advantis Credit Union was robbed the previous day by a man wearing bright orange sneakers.
The Second Credit Union was Robbed About 20 Minutes Later
About 20 minutes later, while Portland police were investigating the Advantis Credit Union robbery, a man wearing bright orange sneakers robbed the Columbia Credit Union on S.E. 10th Ave. Waving a large knife, the man escaped with a couple of hundred dollars. He was photographed by an employee as he fled the building.
According to a federal affidavit, employees at the Columbia Credit Union said the robber was wearing a dark jacket, dark jeans, and bright orange sneakers.
Minutes later, at 1.22 p.m., Portland police Officer Garrett Hemmerlein saw a man wearing bright orange shoes at the fuel pumps of an Arco gas station on Southeast Belmont Street.
Hemmerlein immediately turned his vehicle around and pulled into the gas station lot where he stopped the suspect.
By that stage, the man was no longer wearing the orange sneakers, but Hemmerlein spotted them on the floorboard of the man’s gray Hyundai sedan.
The police officer also saw a machete on the passenger seat in the front of the car, together with bundles of cash, a black puffy jacket, and a black woolen hat, according to a police affidavit.
Police also recovered nearly 5 grams of methamphetamine wrapped in plastic inside a dollar bill, and $1,253 cash in the man’s pockets.
Fluker is in custody in the Multnomah County Detention Center on allegations of federal bank robbery. He is also facing an arrest warrant for a parole violation related to a first-degree robbery conviction.