MASON CITY – A man has been arrested that police think is the “AK-47″ bandit who may be the culprit behind the 2015 robbery of the Iowa Heartland Credit Union in Mason City.
The Mason City police department said today that they have been made aware of the arrest of Richard Gathercole last week after he was picked up in Nebraska. Police say that as a result of that arrest, an investigation began into Gathercole’s possible involvement in bank robberies in several states; including the July 2015 robbery of the Iowa Heartland Credit Union in Mason City.
The Mason City Police Department has been in communication with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Chino, California Police Department since Gathercole’s arrest. They say this is an on-going investigation involving several different agencies; therefore the Mason City Police Department will not comment further at this time.
The male suspect in the Mason City credit union robbery is described as 5’9” to 6′ tall, medium build, possible blue eyes, 20’s to 40’s in age, and was wearing a black ski mask and gloves. He was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle with a high capacity drum magazine. He took an undisclosed amount of money and left the area in a 2007 to 2009 black or dark-colored Toyota Camry LE. He left behind an improvised explosive device that was rendered safe by the FBI and State Fire Marshall.
POSSIBLE SUSPECT
