Brothers Now $60,000 Richer -- Pair Get Reward For Bank Robber's Capture

For an event that ruined their Thanksgiving, the capture of a notorious bank robber in the back yard of their mother's North Seattle home has proved to be a boon for brothers Bob and Ron Walker.

Seafirst Bank announced yesterday that, together with Wells Fargo Bank, it would give the brothers the entire $50,000 reward originally offered for the "arrest or conviction" of the people responsible for robbing at least 14 Seattle banks since 1992. In addition, Pemco Financial Services announced yesterday that it would donate $10,000 to the Walkers.

"We're ecstatic, of course," said Bob Walker, 53, a Boeing computer technician.

Walker, who received the news yesterday afternoon, said the family has not yet talked about what it would do with the money. But "most of the money will go to my mom," he said. "She needs a new roof."

The brothers will receive the money for their part in the capture of William Scott "Hollywood" Scurlock, who was thought to be responsible for numerous Seattle bank robberies.

Earlier, based on information from the FBI, it had been decided that the Walkers did not technically qualify for the $50,000 reward offered by Seafirst and Wells Fargo. On Monday, the two banks reconsidered and decided to give $10,000 to the Walkers.

"The Walkers' willingness to place their own lives at risk in aiding police was more than enough to qualify them for the full amount of the reward," said John Rindlaub, chairman of Seafirst Bank, of the decision to give the Walkers the full reward. ". . . We heard from several Seafirst customers, too, that under the circumstances, they (the Walkers) deserved the entire $50,000."

This will be one of the highest rewards Seafirst has ever given, Rindlaub said.

Pemco decided to donate $10,000 to the Walkers when it heard that Seafirst and Wells Fargo had decided to give the Walkers only $10,000 of the $50,000 reward.

"We're committed to cracking down on crime, and we want to encourage - not discourage - the community to catch criminals," said Stanley McNaughton, Pemco CEO.

McNaughton said Pemco would still donate $10,000 to the Walkers, even though Seafirst and Wells Fargo will give the Walkers the full reward.

Scurlock and two accomplices are thought to have robbed more than $1 million from the Lake City branch of Seafirst Bank last Wednesday. The suspected accomplices, Mark John Biggins, 42, of Oxnard, Calif., and Steve Meyers, 46, of New Orleans, were captured that night following a chase and shootout with police.

The two men, wounded in the gunfight, appeared before a federal magistrate yesterday on armed bank-robbery charges.

Biggins and Meyers face a maximum sentence of 25 years and a $250,000 fine if found guilty. They were held without bail pending a detention hearing Monday. Biggins and Meyers also face state charges of attempted murder.

Police found Scurlock, 41, hiding in the Walkers' camper Thanksgiving Day, after the Walkers called 911 to report a man locked in their camper.

According to a King County Medical Examiner's report, Scurlock fatally shot himself. Police, thinking the suspect had shot at them, fired numerous times into the camper.

Hours later, after a standoff that displaced dozens of residents and disrupted numerous Thanksgiving meals - including the Walkers' - police found Scurlock's body inside.

Information from Seattle Times staff reporters Dave Birkland and Lily Eng is included in this report.