Alleged bank robber caught in Delaware

The man who robbed the Home Federal in Mountain Home is shown on a bank surveillance camera. It's believed he is James Pate, who is wanted in connection with several other bank robberies.

The man suspected of the July 18 armed robbery at the Home Federal Savings and Loan in Mountain Home has been arrested in Deleware, Mountain Home Police officials have announced.

James Ray Pate, 26, was arrested by Delaware police, who were searching for him following an armed robbery of a Provident Bank in a Wal-Mart in Germantown, Md., on Sept. 17. He allegedly handed a note to a teller and implied he had a gun, then fled on foot, actions that were similar to the Home Federal robbery in Mountain Home.

Pate also is a suspect in connection with a robbery in Gold Hill, Ore., on July 6.

Delaware State Police had learned that he was possibly in the Rehoboth Beach area, driving the same 1994 Honda with Oregon plates that local authorities believe he used to make his get-away after the Home Federal robbery. His car was spotted in the parking lot of the Atlantis Inn in Rehoboth Beach.

After a three-hour search Pate was spotted walking along the road by officers from the Dewey Beach, Del., police department, who took him into custody. He was initially charged by state police as a fugitive from justice.

According to Elmore County Prosecutor Christina Schindele, Pate waived extradition to face charges in the Maryland robbery.

She said Elmore County will probably seek to extradite him to face charges here, "unless the feds take over the case. It depends on what happens in Maryland."

Because the alleged robberies involved federally insured banks and occured in multiple state jurisdictions, the U.S. Attorney's office has the authority to prosecute the case if they wish to do so, "but interstate bank robberies really aren't their priority right now," Schindele said. Federal authorities have been focusing much of their efforts on anti-terrorism cases. The FBI, for example, did not even send an investigative team to work the Home Federal robbery, leaving the case up to local authorities.

Schindele said Pate also is being investigated as a possible suspect in several other bank robberies across the country.

Typically, only small amounts of cash are held in any teller's till, and Schindele noted that "the amount of money he (allegedly) got here and in Oregon wasn't going to be enough to live a life of luxury."

The July 6 robbery in Gold Hill, Ore., had a similar pattern to the robbery and the suspect there matched the same description as the suspect in the Mountain Home robbery.

In Mountain Home the robber's note indicated he was armed, but no weapon was displayed. The teller gave him an undisclosed amount of money and the robber then fled on foot out the parking lot door of the bank.