Woman punched in the face and robbed after getting cash at Kennewick ATM
A homeless Kennewick man is in jail after allegedly punching a woman and grabbing her purse moments after she withdrew $250 from an ATM.
A 24-year-old woman had gone to the Bank of America on the 3400 block of Kennewick Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. on Tuesday to get some cash, court documents said.
Witnesses reported seeing a large man in black clothing run up to her.
He demanded the money and then punched her in the face before stealing her purse, she told investigators.
Witnesses said he then ran west.
Officers with the help of a police dog followed a trail of cosmetics and other items and arrested Eugene R. Banks, 49, in the backyard of a home on North Neel Street.
Banks did not have the purse or the cash on him, but the 6-foot-3, 240 pound man appeared to match the woman’s description of her assailant.
Banks was taken to the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery, resisting arrest and obstructing police. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The victim had a red mark on her face from the punch and felt extremely dizzy, she told police. She planned to get a medical check.