Suspected Serial Bank Robber Arrested, Feb. 18

Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies, with the assistance of Portland Police Bureau, Beaverton Police Department and the FBI, arrested Robert Norman Benham on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, at his Beaverton home without incident. According to the federal criminal complaint filed in this case, Benham, age 53, faces charges related to a series of bank robberies that occurred starting in mid-December. Those charged robberies include: December 11, 2018 – Wells Fargo Bank (located inside a Thriftway), 7410 SW Oleson Road, Portland; December 24, 2018 – Columbia Bank, 4805 SW 77th Avenue, Washington County; January 30, 2019 – Columbia Bank, 4805 SW 77th Avenue, Washington County. Benham appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Wednesday, and the judge ordered himheld pending further court proceedings. Investigators are gathering information related to as many as six other unsolved bank robberies in this area between November 2018 and now. Anyone with information on these other robberies is asked to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181, Washington County Sheriff’s Office at (503) 846-2700, the Beaverton Police Department at (503) 526-2282 or Portland Police Bureau at (503) 823-3333. Information may also be submitted via the online portal at https://tips.fbi.gov/   A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and all defendants should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.