New information released 3 years after man killed trying to stop bank robber

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — investigators released new information Thursday, three years after a bystander was killed trying to stop a Washington County bank robber.

Vincent Kelley, 46, of Washington, was shot by the suspect after Kelley chased the man to a getaway car after a robbery, which happened at a Citizens Bank branch in the Giant Eagle supermarket in South Strabane Township on June 16, 2013.

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Authorities said Kelley followed the robber into his getaway car, jumping into the back seat while trying to subdue the suspect. That's when Kelley was shot and fell out of the car as the robber sped away.

Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone called a news conference Thursday to release new information in the case in hopes it leads to an arrest.

The new information included details about the robber’s vehicle, which had Pennsylvania registration HZT-6978.

The license plate was stolen from the Bridgeville or Scott Township area and has not been seen since the crime. Investigators believe it could be hidden in a home or shed where the suspect lives or visits.

Investigators said the same robber in the same car may have held up West Penn Gold in Bridgeville two days earlier.

Authorities said they believe the robber is local.

“Personally, I thought it was someone on the outside who came here and left again. Finding out he could be local and nobody said anything thus far (is) very upsetting,” Mark Kelley, Vincent Kelley’s brother, said.

The bank robber is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.

“Get us some closure. It’s time,” Rose Kelley, Vincent Kelley’s sister-in-law, said. “There’s never a day that goes by (that) we don’t tell Vinny’s story, that we don’t miss him.”

Cox Media Group