Courtesy Eagle County Sheriff Office
The FBI is holding a Front Range couple in connection with two attempted bank robberies in Edwards last month.
Craig Dickson and Karen Sophia Hyatt, 33, are in Front Range jails for their alleged role in the attempted robberies of the Wells Fargo bank and the U.S. Bank at the Riverwalk in Edwards. Dickson is in the Douglas County jail while Hyatt is in the Adams County jail, both as a courtesy for the FBI, according to state court documents.
Hyatt appeared to have other legal issues besides the Edwards bank robberies. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. Friday in Adams County on charges of ID theft, possession of a controlled substance and an FBI matter — presumably the attempted bank robberies in Edwards. For now, her bond for the ID theft and drug possession charges is set at $2,500.
Nonviolent robberies?
At both banks at the Riverwalk, the female suspect, allegedly Hyatt, handed tellers a handwritten note demanding money. An undisclosed amount of money was handed over at Wells Fargo. It is unknown if the female suspect got any money from U.S. Bank. The two banks are about 120 yards apart.
“On May 1, 2019, the Wells Fargo in Edwards, was robbed and on the same day, an attempt was made at the US Bank in Edwards,” KellyRose Olson with the FBI’s Denver office said in an email.
Apparently, handing a note to a teller is a popular method for modern bank robbers, says Deborah Lamm Weisel in her 2007 paper, “Bank Robbery,” written for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. If the note implies that the person has a weapon, then it’s considered an armed robbery, Weisel writes.
Banks almost always train employees to comply quickly with robbers’ demands, Weisel wrote.
“Tellers willingly empty their cash drawers when presented with a simple robbery demand note, whether or not violence is threatened or a weapon is displayed,” writes Weisel. “The bank’s primary objective is to protect the safety and security of its employees and customers by reducing
the likelihood of violence … Robbers often wait in the teller’s line with legitimate customers and pass a demand note to the teller. In many robberies, the event is handled so discreetly that other customers and even other employees are not even aware that a crime has occurred until after the robber has left the premises.”
Social media leads
Eagle County Sheriff’s Office detectives interviewed dozens of people around the Riverwalk following the attempted robberies. Eventually, hundreds of people offered comments and leads on social media.
“Our investigators are working with the Federal Authorities and they are following up on and clearing every single lead that has been forwarded to us via our channels, calls, emails and the Eagle County Crime Stoppers etc.,” Amber Barrett, public information officer with the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, said in an email during the investigation.
Vail Daily reporter John LaConte contributed to this story
