Tulsa bank robbery suspect sought

A family from Illinois visiting Tulsa to see the sights, got caught up in the middle of a bank robbery Wednesday afternoon. <br/><br/>Nobody was hurt, and the visitors ended up with a vacation memory they

Wednesday, August 11th 2004, 3:21 pm

By: News On 6

A family from Illinois visiting Tulsa to see the sights, got caught up in the middle of a bank robbery Wednesday afternoon.

Nobody was hurt, and the visitors ended up with a vacation memory they never expected. News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright says when she pulled up to the Bank of America at 71st and Lewis, she expected to find just another bank robbery.

But then she met the Stevens family from Illinois. Jerry Stevens: "My son just came here to go to ORU and we were doing some vacationing and he stopped in here to take care of some banking business and then we saw police cars driving by, sirens, then, two pulled in here and the locked the doors to the bank.â€

They called their son on his cell phone, who said there'd been a bank robbery, but everyone was calm and he was still in line. "We were shocked, shocked. This stuff happens other places, but not to us. We're from a small town in Illinois, about 4,000 people and it's scary, ha."

The robber didn't have a gun and everybody was okay. Chris called from inside to give his folks an update right in the middle of Loriâ€™s interview and it was his turn to be surprised. Jerry Stevens: "We're being interviewed by the news media.â€

The robber went up to a teller, whispered that he wanted 50's and 100's, got them and left. Chris never even knew it; he just wanted to open a checking account.

Lori Fullbright: â€œDonâ€™t you think it's weird you've only been here a couple of days and you're in a bank robbery?" Chris Stevens: "Yeah, but hopefully my parents will feel okay about leaving me here. Tulsa is nice and I'll be safe."

The Stevens family headed off to the museum with a vacation memory that promised a little more excitement than they could've ever dreamed. Chris also got his checking account opened as well.

As for the bank robber, he's in his 50's or 60's and driving a blue Pontiac. The teller thinks he's the same person who robbed them a few months ago.