License plate photo leads police to robbery suspect

MEDFORD, Ore. — A device designed to scan the license plates of vehicles that have been stolen or are being driven by criminal suspects fleeing the scene helped police track the Grants Pass woman suspected of robbing a Medford Wells Fargo Bank branch this weekend.

Karen Ilene McGuire, 53, was being held in the Jackson County Jail on suspicion of second-degree robbery and first-degree theft. Her bail is set at $1.01 million, jail records show.

“It definitely played a role in solving this bank robbery,” Sgt. Derek Parks of Medford police said of the Automatic License Plate Reader device that led authorities to McGuire’s door.

Two Medford patrol cars are fitted with the ALPR.

“As the (patrol car is) going down the roadway, it’s just constantly taking pictures of license plates,” Parks said.

McGuire is suspected of entering the Wells Fargo bank at 12:23 p.m. Saturday. She allegedly handed a note demanding cash to a teller, but did not display a weapon or claim to be armed. The teller obliged, and McGuire left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was hurt.

Officers in the area checked video from their patrol vehicles and identified a vehicle leaving the scene. A responding officer driving a patrol car equipped with an ALPR scanned the license plate, which pulled up McGuire’s home address. Police drove there and arrested McGuire on Saturday.