Westover Deputy Police Chief Scott Carl said the WPD has expanded its efforts to identify the man who robbed the Commerce Drive WesBanco Bank location on Oct. 23.
Carl told members of Westover City Council that sharing photos of the man and his vehicle on social media has yet to generate any leads in the case.
“So far, we’ve gotten no tips which leads us to believe the suspect is from pretty far out of town. We’re still working. We’re working with other states even trying to get his photo out to see if anybody can identify him,” he said.
According to the initial Westover press release, a white man, approximately 40 to 50 years old, entered the bank at about 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 and handed a teller a threatening note demanding money.
Westover Police Chief Joe Adams said he believes the man made off with about $3,000 before driving away in what appears to be a blue Buick LeSabre.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Westover Police Department at 304-296-6576.
In other Westover news, Public Works Director Jason Stinespring said the owner of the former Westover Elementary School building, on Morrison Avenue, has been served with a demolition notice.
Stinespring said the owner, Victor Solomon, has until Dec. 6 to produce a signed contract for the demolition of the building.
“If not, we’ll take the steps ourselves. We have all the paperwork done and ready. The inspections were done and the letter of condemnation has been served. Everything is ready,” he said.
This process officially began more than a year ago, in August 2023, when Stinespring and Code Enforcement Officer Bill Kennedy carried out an administrative search warrant to verify the safety of the structure.
The warrant was issued due to the condition of the building’s exterior and the knowledge that the building had been sitting vacant for at least 15 years.
Lastly, City Clerk Sandie Weis said the city has received its first sales tax check from the state.
The city’s 1% municipal sales tax was implemented through Home Rule and took effect July 1.
Weis said the first payout was $170,552.
“That’s not as high as we anticipated, but we found out that’s only for two months. The next time we get a check it will be for the full three months,” she said during Monday’s council meeting. “You have to remember that payers pay at different rates, too. Some submit monthly, some quarterly, some annually depending on the amount of taxes owed. So, that’s pretty exciting. We did open up a special account for it at your request.”
