SunTrust robbed
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Gulf Breeze Police and Santa Rosa and Escambia County Sheriffs Departments officials gather at SunTrust Bank after a man robbed the bank and fled on foot.

The SunTrust Bank in Gulf Breeze was robbed in broad daylight last week. On Nov. 1 just after 12:30 p.m., an unidentified man entered the SunTrust Bank, located at 11 Hoffman Drive, and demanded money from the teller. Witnesses described the man as a white male, approximately 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighing around 160 pounds, dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black gloves and a black mask. Eyewitnesses said after the robber made off with an undisclosed amount of cash in a plastic bag, the suspect left the bank on foot and headed toward a gold or silver car parked behind Gulf Breeze Elementary School. One eyewitness reported seeing the alleged robber change from his black attire into normal street clothes before leaving the scene in the car parked behind the elementary school. All three Gulf Breeze Schools were put on lockdown while police searched the area for the suspect. Eyewitnesses reported the vehicle was last seen heading westbound on Highway 98 before police arrived on scene.

The SunTrust Bank is the second financial institution to be robbed in Gulf Breeze in less than six months. The People's First Community Bank on Shoreline Drive was robbed July 27. Police reports said the suspect in that crime was described as a middle aged man close to 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 230 pounds.