Chesterton Police believe that a man shot and killed on Friday by South Bend Police, reportedly after he had robbed a bank, may be the same man responsible for the robbery of two banks in town this year as well as the Walgreen’s.

Det. Lt. Dave Cincoski identified the deceased as Brian Szuflita. Cincoski did not immediately know Szuflita’s age or his place of residence.

According to a story in Saturday’s edition of the South Bend Tribune, at 2:15 p.m. SBPD officers responding to a robbery alarm at a 1st Source Bank gave chase to Szuflita after he was seen running out a door of the bank, across the property of a funeral home, and into a field behind a church. The SBPD said that Szuflita pulled a knife with a blade six to eight inches in length and attempted to attack the pursuing officers and in response was shot multiple times in the upper torso by two of them.

Police said that Szuflita was found with an exploding dye pack on his body and was recognized by a 1st Source manager as being the same man who had robbed the bank eight days earlier, on July 17.

He was described as a Hispanic male, approximately 5’ 7’’ in height with a thin build.

Cincoski told the Chesterton Tribune today that that description tallies well with the description of the suspect in each of three recent robberies:

•The robbery of the 1st Source Bank at 800 Indian Boundary Road on April 7. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male 5’ 8’’ to 5’ 9’’ in height and 165 to 185 pounds in weight.

•The robbery of the LaPorte Savings Bank at 851 Indian Boundary on July 2. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male 5’ 5’’ in height and 140 pounds in weight.

•And the robbery of the Walgreen’s at 580 Indian Boundary on July 9. In this job the suspect demanded prescribed but undisclosed controlled substances. He was described as a Hispanic male, 5’ 6’’ to 5’ 10’’ in height and 175 pounds in weight.

A photographic lineup containing Szuflita’s picture was accordingly prepared and shown to witnesses of the 1st Source, LaPorte Savings, and Walgreen’s jobs, Cincoski said. “The deceased person’s picture was picked out of a photo lineup at those businesses as being very similar in description and physical characteristics to the robber in those three cases.”

“There are still some aspects of the investigation continuing to obtain additional evidence that might link the deceased person to those robberies,” Cincoski added.

Cincoski noted, however, that it is unlikely that Szuflita will ever be identified with certainty as the robber in the April 7, July 2, and July 9 jobs, and that there remain two other unsolved robberies committed this year: the Jan. 25 robbery of 1st Source Bank, committed by a white male described as being 5’ 8’’ in height with a thin build and blond hair; and the May 21 robbery of Chase Bank at 109 Broadway, committed by a black male described as being 6’ 0’’ in height.

Banks and other high-profile businesses, Cincoski said, should therefore continue to be “vigilant and report any suspicious activity.”

Posted 7/29/2008