A bank inside a Minnetonka grocery store was robbed early this week, and authorities are looking into whether the heist is related to another in the west metro a few weeks earlier.
The latest holdup occurred about 7 p.m. Monday at the U.S. Bank branch inside a Lunds & Byerly's store at 13081 Ridgedale Drive, near the Plymouth Road exit from Interstate 394, according to police.
The suspect was described as a black man with a thin build, 5 feet 9 to 5 feet 11, wearing a tan suede, midthigh-length winter coat with lamb's wool trim around pockets, cuffs, collar and seams. The suspect was wearing a dark colored knit cap on his head covered by a dark, hooded sweatshirt that was worn underneath the coat.
Police Chief Jeffrey Sebenaler said Tuesday that investigators are checking on whether this man also held up a U.S. Bank inside a Lunds & Byerly's on Jan. 4 in Golden Valley.
The suspect in the earlier robbery is described as black, in his early 20s, about 5 feet 11, with a thin build, light mustache, thin lips and clear complexion. He was wearing a gray hooded coat, gray hooded sweatshirt, black cargo pants, gray tennis shoes, and a colorful scarf.
Anyone with information in the most recent robbery is asked to call Minnetonka police at 952-939-8500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. A reward is being offered for information leading to the identity, arrest and conviction of the suspect.
In the east metro, the FBI and local police are looking for a different suspect implicated in a string of six bank robberies in St. Paul that began last summer.
Investigators have described that suspect as a slim Asian male in his late 20s or early 30s, approximately 5 feet 2 and weighing between 130 and 150 pounds.
