Suspect In Custody In Knifepoint ATM Robbery In Burgettstown

BURGETTSTOWN (KDKA) -- A Washington County man is now behind bars, accused of robbing a woman at knifepoint at an ATM machine.

Charles Thomas, 25, is facing robbery and receiving stolen property charges in connection with a holdup last Friday evening outside a PNC Bank branch in Burgettstown.

Officer Michael Dhanse, of the McDonald Police Department, told KDKA-TV that a woman was at the bank ATM machine when Thomas approached her out of nowhere.

Police say the suspect threatened to kill her unless she handed over the nearly $500 she had just withdrawn.

"When she obtained about $500 from the ATM, which was actually for her child's student loads, when it came out, the suspect actually demanded the money," said Officer Dhanse. "She originally thought it was a joke and laughed at it, and then he showed a knife and said that he would actually kill her if she did not give him the money."

The suspect was seen on surveillance video at the bank and at a nearby gas station where he left some of the clothing he was wearing in a bathroom.

Dhanse says Thomas even called police later that night and said a man tried to assault and rob him outside his girlfriend's home. He made that story up, police said.

He's being held in the Washington County Jail on $50,000 bond.

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