Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Retired Marine holds suspected bank robber for police

Bank Robbery

A retired Marine who said he heard a bank robber threaten to shoot a woman Wednesday morning held the man in a choke hold until law enforcement officers arrived.

At about 10 a.m., 59-year-old Gary Mattson went into the Summerlin branch of WaMu/Chase Bank at 9911 W. Charleston Blvd. near Hualapai Avenue.

As a man with cash in both fists headed for the door, Mattson heard the man with the money say, "I have a gun, I will shoot you," to a woman in the bank.

Mattson, who is 6-feet tall and about 200 pounds, said he took two steps toward the man and spun him around, then placed him in a choke hold until the man passed out.

"The money was blowing around the parking lot," Mattson said. "I guess my Marine training, the fight or flight instinct, kicked in. I had to do something. After all, he threatened a woman."

Metro Police officers and FBI agents arrived in moments and took the man into custody, Mattson said.

Mattson, who splits his time between Las Vegas and Chicago, praised the response of law enforcement and said he doesn't consider himself a hero.

The suspected robber didn't have a gun, but was armed with a balpeen hammer and was wearing sunglasses as a disguise, Mattson said.

Special Agent Joseph Dickey of the FBI's Las Vegas branch confirmed the bank robbery, but said the man arrested won't be identified until he is charged. He is expected to appear in federal court Thursday morning and his name and the charges against him will be released, Dickey said.

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