By Sandeep Bishnoi, September 16, 2023, 12:55 PM
In a recent development, the individual suspected of being involved in a bank theft that occurred in Ferndale back in December 2015 has been acquitted and found not guilty by a jury, as per the records from Whatcom County Superior Court.
The incident, which took place on December 10, 2015, prompted a swift response from Ferndale Police after receiving a report of a robbery at the Ferndale branch of Key Bank. Initially, there were reports suggesting a potential hostage situation. A bank teller informed law enforcement that she had received a call from a male claiming to have a gun pointed at the branch manager. She stated that she was instructed to deliver money to a remote location on Hovander Road. Although investigators managed to recover the box and bag supposedly used in the transaction, the cash itself remained missing.
Subsequently, authorities discovered an empty box at the reported drop-off site shortly after being alerted to the incident. An extensive investigation into the robbery was launched, involving multiple agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The bank teller, Donna Ann Brown, who was 54 years old at the time, voluntarily surrendered to Ferndale Police at the Whatcom County Jail eight days later. She was booked on charges of 1st-degree theft but was released from custody on the same day, as indicated by jail records. Notably, at the time of her arrest, Ferndale Police disclosed that Brown had not confessed to the theft, and she had refrained from speaking with the police since retaining legal representation the day after the robbery. She faced allegations of embezzling over $30,000 in cash from the branch, according to Ferndale Police.
Court documents reveal that a jury trial was scheduled to commence on August 29th, with the jury ultimately delivering a verdict of not guilty on September 8th.
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