11 Million Bank Robbery

Two men believed to be the so-called "Trenchcoat Robbers" were indicted yesterday in Seattle in connection with what FBI agents have called the largest bank robbery in U.S. history.

William Kirkpatrick, 57, of Hovland, Minn., and Ray Bowman, 53, of Kansas City, Mo., were charged by a federal grand jury with conspiring to rob the Lakewood, Pierce County, branch of Seafirst Bank on Feb. 10, 1997. They were also charged with using a firearm during the robbery and with interstate transportation of stolen property.

Kirkpatrick and Bowman are in jail in Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City, respectively, on federal firearms charges.

The FBI has described the Lakewood robbery, which netted nearly $4.5 million, as the largest in U.S. history.

Agents in Seattle and in the Midwest have said the men responsible for the Lakewood robbery were similar in appearance to the so-called "Trenchcoat Robbers" believed to be responsible for more than 30 bank holdups throughout the U.S. since the mid-1980s.

The robbers had gray hair, were well-dressed, wore trenchcoats, distinctive caps, sunglasses and facial disguises and were polite, Seafirst employees said.

Kirkpatrick was indicted earlier this year in Minnesota in a 1993 bank robbery there.

He was arrested Nov. 10 by a Nebraska state trooper for speeding. Authorities said a search of Kirkpatrick's car turned up $1.8 million in two duffel bags.

However, a federal magistrate in Nebraska this week ruled the search was not justified and that material found during it will not be admitted as evidence in a trial.

Several firearms, including one with an obliterated serial number, were also found in the car.

Kirkpatrick's girlfriend was arrested when she attempted to post cash bail for him and gave agents a detailed statement about his activities.

In Bowman's home and in several rental-storage spaces linked to him and Kirkpatrick, investigators found more firearms, police radio scanners and materials used to create disguises, investigators said.

They also found marked bills from the Lakewood bank robbery among Bowman's possessions, according to court records.

The FBI said the two suspects had taken a total of almost $8 million in their robberies. The Internal Revenue Service said it could find no record that either man or Kirkpatrick's girlfriend had ever filed income-tax returns.

Kirkpatrick and his girlfriend live in a $183,000 home on the shore of Lake Superior. They paid for it with cash, agents said.