Police arrest suspect in string of armed Salem, Albany bank robberies
The Salem Police Department arrested a Salem man accused of a string of armed bank robberies in Salem and Albany over the past two weeks.
Police arrested Jason Lee Welty, 50, at his residence on Southeast Lee Street Tuesday evening.
Prosecutors charged him with three counts of second-degree robbery, a felony, in Marion County Circuit Court.
Welty is the primary suspect in three bank robberies in Salem and a fourth in Albany, Salem police said in a Wednesday news release.
The first bank robbery was on May 21 at the Valley Credit Union at 2096 Mission Street S.E., and the second robbery took place two days later on May 23, at the Chase Bank at 5135 Commercial Street S.E. The third alleged robbery in Salem took place on May 28 at the KeyBank at 1500 Edgewater Street N.W.
The fourth robbery in Albany happened on May 31 at the Northwest Community Credit Union at 707 Waverly Drive S.E.
All three robberies took place in the afternoon and involved a man who brandished a handgun demanding money from bank tellers. The suspect fled with varying amounts of cash, and no bank employees were injured.
Welty was booked into the Marion County Jail and remains in custody as of Wednesday morning, jail records show.
Police in Salem arrested Welty and took him to the Marion County Jail on three counts of second-degree robbery, three counts of first-degree theft, and three counts of menacing.
Separate charges are expected for Welty from the Albany Police Department related to the fourth bank robbery in Albany, Salem police said.
The Salem Police Department was assisted by the FBI in Portland and the Albany Police Department.
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
