Gainesville man charged with bank robbery

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jniry Hypolite Valceus, 32, was arrested early this morning and charged with unarmed robbery after allegedly robbing the PNC Bank on SW 34th Street on Tuesday.

At about 3:39 p.m. on September 3, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to a robbery alarm at the bank (2814 SW 34th Street) but found that the suspect had fled. A bank employee reportedly said a man had walked in with a white hoodie pulled over his head, a black face mask covering the bottom half of his mouth, and black gloves. The employee said he walked over while the man was filling out a withdrawal slip and noticed that he had used an account number that didn’t match their format, had used the name “Jerry West,” and had requested to withdraw $500. He said the man seemed “pretty nervous,” and he directed him to a nearby teller for assistance.

The teller told the officer that the man gave her the withdrawal slip, and she asked if he had any identification, but he said he didn’t. She said she could not complete the transaction without identification, then he laid several cards on the counter and gave her a handwritten note that said, “I need 20,000 all 100’s no dye packs no bands no tracking loose bills fanned out do nothing stupid.” She told him she did not have $20,000 but gave him the contents of her drawer, later determined to be $2,296. She said the man took the money and left the bank, then went eastbound across SW 34th Street. Officers were unable to locate the man at the time.

A second employee told the officer she received an interoffice message from the teller that said, “I’m being robbed.” That employee activated the robbery alarm and went out to the lobby, where she saw the robber. She also reportedly saw him leaving in an eastbound direction.

Two customers also reportedly provided a description of the robber and thought his appearance was “odd” for someone conducting business in a bank. They said they heard the teller saying, “Have a great day” to the man and heard the man say, “Thank you,” then they saw the man leave the bank and saw the teller run around the corner, saying, “Lock the door – we have been robbed.”

Officers obtained still photos of the suspect from the bank and used investigative tools to identify Valceus as the suspect; officers also learned that his listed local address is at Silver Creek Apartments (3009 SW Archer Road), very close to the bank and to where a K-9 team lost the track in the 3000 block of SW Archer Road.

A six-person photo line-up was created, and the teller reportedly picked Valceus from the line-up. The first employee was reportedly unable to identify the suspect in the photo line-up.

Valceus was arrested early this morning in the 6500 block of SW Archer Road.

Valceus has been in Alachua County for about six months and was homeless for part of that time, according to a court document. He has four felony convictions (none violent) and six misdemeanor convictions (none violent). Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $100,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.