KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE (6/15): The Knoxville Police Department has identified and arrested Robert Zenas Whipple, 51, in connection to a robbery on Friday at the City Employees Credit Union.
"Last night, Knoxville Police Department officers spotted the suspect vehicle from the robbery, which was identified as a U-Haul cargo van in the course of the investigation," KPD said.
After losing the van in the downtown area, KPD officers attempted to stop the van later near Broadway, KPD said. The department said the driver fled from officers again but was followed until it "became disabled" in the area of Millertown Pike and Washington Pike.
Whipple was then taken into custody and charged with robbery, felony evading arrest and other charges, KPD said.
In 2023, Whipple was sentenced to almost six years in prison for a string of bank robberies he committed in 2020.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said that Robert Whipple, III, 50, currently of Crossville, pled guilty to an indictment charging him with three counts of bank robbery. They said that he robbed a Home Federal Bank, First Horizon Bank and Fifth Third Bank in West Knoxville.
They said he robbed a bank each day from March 5 through March 7 in 2020 and took around $6,950 in total from the robberies. They said he was arrested at a hotel in Knoxville and when law enforcement searched his hotel room and vehicle, they found more than $4,000 in cash and many items that he used to commit the robberies.
He was sentenced to 70 months in prison by the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer. When he is released, he will also be on three years of supervised release and will need to pay restitution, according to a release.
According to KPD, Whipple had an active TDOC parole violation at the time of his arrest on Friday.
An affidavit by FBI Special Agent Wesley Leatham details how authorities found Whipple in 2020, who was staying at a Red Roof Inn off Papermill Road.
The robber the first two times wore a distinctive red rain poncho, light-colored shorts and white sneakers, according to investigators.
He appeared to be wearing a Dickie's style jacket. That piqued the curiosity of law enforcement officers, who decided to see if anyone recently had bought such a jacket or maybe even a red rain poncho at the Walmart on Walbrook Drive.
Sure enough, Walmart security personnel tracked down the sale to Robert Z. Whipple on March 2 of a poncho, envelopes, markers and a soda, records state. Recorded video surveillance showed a man who looked a lot like the robber buying the items.
After the third robbery, further work led KPD and the FBI to the Red Roof Inn, where they confronted Whipple in a room with two women.
Whipple was released from prison on April 26, 2024. He was arrested again for the most recent bank robbery on June 14, Less than two months after his previous sentence ended.
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PREVIOUS STORY: The Knoxville Police Department said officers were looking for a suspect involved in a robbery Friday afternoon at a Western Avenue credit union.
The police department said the robbery was reported at around 3:40 p.m. on Friday, on the 4400 block of Western Avenue. It said the suspect entered the bank and passed a note to the teller demanding money.
KPD said the teller complied and the suspect left.
KPD said its violent crimes unit was investigating, and that the investigation was in its early stages. Anyone with information that could identify the suspect should reach out to the East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165. Anyone who reaches out can stay anonymous.