PORTLAND — A Portland man who earned a heroism award from Portland police five years ago for disrupting a bank robbery is now facing bank robbery charges.
The Oregonian says Mark Rothwell was taken into custody Wednesday after a bank robbery in Portland where nearly $16,000 was taken at gunpoint.
Court records show Rothwell made his first court appearance on Thursday. His arraignment was set for March 12.
A complaint filed Thursday in federal court says the 39-year-old walked into the bank with a gun and told two tellers to hand over cash. Police later found a bag of cash and a gun inside a running, unoccupied pickup truck. Officers using a tracking dog found Rothwell in a backyard and he allegedly told officers he robbed the bank.
In 2010, Rothwell won an award for disarming a would-be bank robber and holding him down until police arrived.
