Alleged bank robber faces federal charges
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, January 26th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PORTLAND – The man alleged to have robbed the Umpqua Bank in Hermiston at gunpoint on Dec. 17, 2021 is being tried in federal court. Clifford Court Uptegrove, 59, of Moxee, Washington was indicted on three felony charges last week. A date for his formal arraignment has not yet been set.
A Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the suspect’s vehicle following the robbery and Hermiston police took the lead and stopped the car. A search warrant for the vehicle allowed officers to locate more than $10,000 and a firearm.
The federal charges against Uptegrove are bank robbery; being a felon in possession of a firearm; and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. There is a possibility that he could face other charges in Umatilla County as well.
When Uptegrove was arrested, he was on compassionate early release from a federal prison in New York on an armed bank robbery case. He said his asthma made him especially vulnerable to COVID-19. A federal court in Seattle granted his early release.
Hermiston Police Detective Sgt. Robert Guerrero gave the statement of probable cause to the court. He said Uptegrove told an HPD sergeant that he decided it was a good day for a bank robbery.
“He uttered, without provocation, something to the effect that he thought it would be a good time to rob a bank because he had seen a large crash earlier on the highway and figured the police would be busy,” Guerrero wrote.
Alleged bank robber faces federal charges
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, January 26th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
PORTLAND – The man alleged to have robbed the Umpqua Bank in Hermiston at gunpoint on Dec. 17, 2021 is being tried in federal court. Clifford Court Uptegrove, 59, of Moxee, Washington was indicted on three felony charges last week. A date for his formal arraignment has not yet been set.
A Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the suspect’s vehicle following the robbery and Hermiston police took the lead and stopped the car. A search warrant for the vehicle allowed officers to locate more than $10,000 and a firearm.
The federal charges against Uptegrove are bank robbery; being a felon in possession of a firearm; and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. There is a possibility that he could face other charges in Umatilla County as well.
When Uptegrove was arrested, he was on compassionate early release from a federal prison in New York on an armed bank robbery case. He said his asthma made him especially vulnerable to COVID-19. A federal court in Seattle granted his early release.
Hermiston Police Detective Sgt. Robert Guerrero gave the statement of probable cause to the court. He said Uptegrove told an HPD sergeant that he decided it was a good day for a bank robbery.
“He uttered, without provocation, something to the effect that he thought it would be a good time to rob a bank because he had seen a large crash earlier on the highway and figured the police would be busy,” Guerrero wrote.
