Durham police try to identify attempted robbery suspect

A man driving a white work van pulled into the drive-thru at First Citizens Bank at 7101 Fayetteville Road around 10 a.m. and demanded $5,000 from the teller, police said. The man did not show a weapon and fled when the teller refused to give him any money.

The suspect was described as a thin white man with light hair (sandy, gray or brownish in color) and possibly a thin mustache. He was wearing a white hat and a neon green long sleeve jacket.

Police said they are looking into the possibility that this incident is connected to an assault and vehicle theft that occurred earlier Thursday in the Falconbridge subdivision off N.C. Highway 54.

Officers were dispatched to Dartford Court after a woman told officers two men approached her and demanded her vehicle. The men tried to force her into her vehicle and struck her several times on the head with a gun when she refused, police said. The men were unable to get the vehicle keys and fled on foot.

The suspects were described as white men and the description of one of the suspects was similar to the description of the suspect in the attempted bank robbery, according to police. The woman was taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for treatment of head and hand injuries.

A short time later, officers responded to a report of a stolen 2005 Chevrolet Express van on Tottenham Court in Falconbridge. The van with North Carolina license DA-9408 had not been recovered Thursday evening. The van, which has a ladder rack on top, is similar to the description of the vehicle used at the bank.

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to call Investigator Byrd at 919-560-4415, ext. 29309, Investigator Wheeler at 919-560-4583, ext. 29370 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.