CENTRALIA, Wash. - Centralia Police say a man being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle has been arrested in the attempted robbery of a Centralia credit union.
Police say Michael Anthony Lar, 58, has a long rap sheet that includes crimes committed in Centralia.
The man with gunshot wounds to the elbow and hip was arrested in a taxi Monday night in Olympia and is now at Harborview.
Centralia Police are confident they got their man.
"He still will not cooperate, he still hasn't made a statement," said Det. Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald.
But he did leave plenty of evidence behind following Monday's attempted armed robbery at TwinStar Credit Union, including a hat, and more importantly, some keys dropped in some nearby bushes, which led to his car.
"We found his car, which I'm sure was frustrating for him when he realized he didn't have his keys any longer," said Fitzgerald.
So he took a cab to Olympia and the Phoenix Inn, where the cab driver dropped him off then called police. A worker at the hotel called too, after seeing the wounded man trying to hail another cab. It was there that he was arrested.
On Tuesday Centralia Police Chief praised the heroic efforts of one of his own.
"I am very proud of the actions of Officer Neil Hoium, who probably had his life saved by a very courageous bank teller and in turn saved that individual's life," said Chief Robert Berg.
Fingerprints identified the suspect, Michael Lar. His criminal history does include being a suspect in a bank robbery in Centralia in 1996. He is under police guard at Harborview Medical Center.
'He has a gun'
On Monday morning, Centralia police were called to the TwinStar Credit Union. An officer was met at the door by an employee who mouthed the words "He has a gun." The officer pulled the woman to safety and fired at a man inside.
Police surrounded the building but when they went inside later in the morning they found the man had escaped out a window.
A late night tip led police to a person of interest in Olympia. He was arrested and taken to St. Peter's Hospital, then transferred to Harborview.
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