Suspect in bank robbery in custody
A man who police said robbed a Boulder City bank March 5 was wanted in connection of a previous robbery in New Hampshire.
According to Boulder City Police Sgt. Aaron Johnson, Gerald Bickford entered the Nevada State Bank at 1000 Nevada Way about 9 a.m. and told the teller he was armed. Bickford then left the bank with $840, Johnson said, and drove north on U.S. Highway 95 before being pursued by Nevada Highway Patrol.
Bickford, who Johnson said was driving a red Dodge Charger with Maine license plates, then exited near U.S. 95 and Martin Luther King Boulevard when NHP tried to pull him over.
Johnson said Bickford then fled on foot, but was apprehended by Boulder City Police about 10 a.m. near Rancho Drive and Charleston Boulevard. Johnson said the out-of-state license plates were not registered to the car that Bickford was driving.
Bickford, 35, is about 5-foot-8 and weighs approximately 230 pounds.
According to WMUR-TV in Portsmouth, N.H., he was wanted in connection to a Feb. 2 grocery store robbery in Portsmouth.
Police Chief Bill Conger said it was Boulder City’s first bank robbery in five years. He said the town’s limited access points is a main reason why bank robberies are rare in Boulder City.
“We’ve only got one way in and out of town,” Conger said.
Bickford, who Conger said is from New Hampshire, was arraigned in Boulder City Justice Court on March 10. His preliminary hearing was set for 1 p.m. March 24 in Boulder City Justice Court.
He faces one count of robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon.
Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.
