PORTLAND, Ore. — Two people believed to be involved in over 10 bank robberies in Oregon and Washington were arrested Thursday night, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said. Detectives recovered a note during a search of their possessions that said, "This is a robbery. I have a gun. Empty your till."
Andrew Bekman, 31, and Amira "Sage" Askew, 28, were charged with first-degree robbery after confessing to the Umpqua Bank robbery on Northeast 134th Street in Vancouver earlier this month. The duo is also suspected to be involved in other bank robberies in the Vancouver and Portland metro area dating back to June 2024.
While executing a search warrant Friday, detectives seized clothing matching those worn in multiple robberies, as well as firearms, ballistic vests, stolen vehicles and the note.
Bekman and Askew first got on law enforcement's radar with a robbery of an Umpqua Bank in Vancouver on Nov. 6. Staff told law enforcement that a man and woman wearing face masks had just robbed the bank.
Arresting documents reveal that Askew handed a teller a note saying, "This is a robbery." Bekman than yelled at that teller, demanding money and pointing to what appeared to be a silhouette of a pistol in his jacket. The pair left with just over $8,000 in cash. Surveillance video captured the robbery.
A tip from the public helped identify the two people and where they live in Battle Ground. After their arrests, Bekman and Askew confessed to the Umpqua Bank robbery among with several others, the Clark County Sheriff's Office reported in a news release.
Law enforcement connected Askew to several robberies in the Portland metro through an outstanding arrest warrant in Clackamas County, which helped identity her.
After his arrest, Bekman told officials that Askew and her boyfriend had asked him to help with the bank robbery to make quick cash. Her boyfriend had recently been injured in a shooting and the couple needed help because he could not be the "muscle," the arresting document said.
He said he only wore the mask to conceal his identity and that he was told to "pretend he had a pistol." When they left the bank, Bekman said her boyfriend was waiting for them in the parking lot and drove the car to the house in Battle Ground.
Bekman said that Askew and her boyfriend "never ended up" paying him for his help, even though he was told he would be paid. Bekman told officials that he only agreed to do it so he could keep buying propane to "keep his cats warm."
He also retains a felony warrant in Clackamas County, CCSO said.
In an interview after the arrest, Askew told officials that the Umpqua Bank robbery was her first and that she did it to pay medical bills. A previous 911 call to the Battle Ground house on Nov. 1 reported a 28-year-old female having "blood in stool and feeling faint," arresting documents said. It hasn't been confirmed whether this female was Askew.
"It was not supposed to go that way," Askew told officials in response to seeing her photos on television news reports after the robbery.
The two appeared in Clark County court on Thursday for their first appearance. The judge set bail for Askew at $150,000 and $100,000 for Bekman. Bekman has a warrant his arrest out of Clackamas County for an unlawful possession of methamphetamine and prostitution charges. Askew has a bench warrant for her arrest out of Clackamas County for a charge of assaulting a public safety officer.
