When a Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped a van that matched the description of a vehicle seen leaving the scene of an armed robbery in Provo, he was not surprised to find a gun and money with red dye on it from an exploding dye pack. He was surprised, however, to find a 1-year-old child on board.
The two men were arrested near Price about an hour and a half after the Utah First Credit Union, 310 N. 100 West, was robbed Tuesday morning. A witness observed one man run out of the building and reported seeing the dye pack explode before the man climbed into the white van and drove off with another man. The suspect also dropped some of the cash, police reported.
A credit union teller said a man in his mid 30s, about 5-foot-10, approached the window about 11:15 a.m. with a handgun in the waistband of his pants and handed a note and bag demanding money. The teller reported placing an undisclosed amount of cash in the bag along with a dye pack. Witnesses said the man was wearing an oversized green, puffy coat, a black knit beanie and oversized dark sunglasses.
Provo police put out a statewide notice with a description of the van, and the trooper recognized the vehicle in a traffic stop was probably that van.
The two adult men were taken to Carbon County Jail in Price, and the child was placed in the custody of the Division of Children and Family Services. Provo detectives and agents from the FBI went to Price Tuesday to interview the two men.
