Robbery suspect has long record

When Douglas Cox came up with a plan to rob a West Seattle bank, police say, he relied on a scheme he had used a half-dozen times before: threaten tellers with a pellet gun, empty out the cash drawers and make a quick escape.

On Tuesday morning, Cox walked into the Wells Fargo Bank branch dressed in black and wearing sunglasses and a woman's wig, with black shoe polish smeared across his cheeks and chin, police said. But his getaway was foiled by a bursting dye pack and a police chase that ended when he was shot several times in downtown Seattle.

On Wednesday, Seattle police offered more details on the bank robbery and dramatic chase that stretched along crowded Seattle streets from West Seattle to First Hill and ended in a hail of bullets downtown. They also offered details on the man they said masterminded the robbery.

Cox, 50, has an extensive criminal record that includes convictions in connection with five earlier bank robberies. He was released from prison in December for convictions stemming from bank robberies in Fife and Kenmore in 2002, and he stayed at a halfway house run by Pioneer Human Services in Seattle until last month. It was there that Cox met Kevin Palmer, said Assistant Police Chief Nick Metz.

Together, police said, the pair hatched a plan to rob the bank.

As part of the plan, said Seattle police Sgt. Gary Nelson, Cox bought a Jeep Cherokee and a pellet gun, which police say is a near replica of a Colt .45 handgun. He promised Palmer nearly $4,000 to work as his getaway driver, according to a Seattle police report.

Police said Palmer provided detectives with key details about the robbery plan during lengthy questioning after his arrest on Tuesday. After Cox walked out of the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, he climbed into the waiting Jeep with Palmer at the wheel, police said.

A red dye pack that a bank teller had stashed in the stolen cash exploded.

Cox ordered Palmer to pull over in the 2600 block of Harbor Avenue Southwest, according to police. Cox got out to escape the fumes and mess, but when two Seattle police officers drove up and drew their weapons, Cox jumped back in and ordered Palmer "Go, go, go," Metz said.

The chase went onto the West Seattle Bridge, then onto northbound Highway 99, and to First Hill. Once they reached Eighth Avenue and Yesler Way, Palmer got out of the vehicle but was quickly arrested, authorities said.

Cox got behind the wheel and headed east on Spring Street, where he got stuck behind another vehicle and was "basically trapped" by police, Metz said.

Ordered to surrender

Police ordered Cox to surrender, but when he raised his right hand to display a gun he was shot, Metz said. Officers think Cox was trying to restart the Jeep with his left hand, Metz said.

The four officers who had the best vantage point shot at Cox's Jeep in the middle of Spring Street in downtown Seattle. The officers unloaded again a few minutes later; police fired a total of 15 shots, Metz said.

Cox, who was shot as many as five times in the head and neck, was pulled from the car by SWAT officers. He was listed in serious condition Wednesday at Harborview Medical Center.

"Obviously this gentleman forced the officers' hands by displaying what they believed to be a weapon," Metz said.

Cox was determined to avoid arrest, investigators said. He told Palmer that he wasn't going back to prison, police said.

The officers who fired their weapons were identified Wednesday as: Seattle police Sgt. Joseph Bauer, 45; Seattle police Officer Jeff Geohagan, 37; Seattle police Officer Chriseley Lang, 46; and King County sheriff's Deputy William Kennemer, 40.

$2 million bail

Palmer is being held for investigation of robbery and eluding police. On Wednesday a judge set his bail at $2 million. Palmer's criminal history includes convictions for theft, possession of stolen property, cocaine possession and bank fraud.

Cox, who is under police guard at Harborview, will be booked into jail for investigation of robbery, assault and eluding when he leaves the hospital, Metz said.

Cox had pleaded guilty to three bank robberies in Spokane, but he told federal investigators that he had committed four robberies in five months, according to plea paperwork filed in the Eastern District of Washington.

According to prosecutors, Cox used a BB gun in the robberies at the United Security Bank in December 1997; the Farmers and Merchants Bank in February 1998; the Horizon Credit Union in March 1998; and a Wells Fargo Bank in April that same year.

At several of the banks, Cox asked if he could cash a check and then demanded money. One of the tellers said he smelled strongly of alcohol.

A 2003 court document from his attorney, requesting some leniency in his sentencing, noted Cox had an alcohol problem.

Cox's mother, who did not want to be named, said on Monday that her son's downward spiral began when he started drinking about a decade ago after his father died and his wife left him.

In 2002, Cox robbed two more banks, one in Kenmore and one in Fife. He was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

His mother said on Monday she didn't believe her son had ever fully acknowledged his problem with alcohol.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf and staff reporter Christine Clarridge contributed to this report.