Suspect in Multiple Bank Robberies Arrested

Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Moore of the Knoxville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Acting Chief Phillip Dunn of the Alcoa Police Department announce the arrest of Gerald Hytken, age 79, of Lenoir City, Tennessee. Hytken is suspected of robbing the BB&T Bank branch located at 109 Associates Boulevard in Alcoa, Tennessee on December 20, 2012.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., the suspect entered BB&T carrying a black bag. He brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and verbally demanded money. At the time of the robbery, Hytken was wearing a navy blue windbreaker-style hoodie, dark gloves, and a ski mask. He fled the scene in a white 2000 Buick Regal but was almost immediately apprehended on Alcoa Highway by officers of the Alcoa Police Department.

Hytken is facing a federal charge for this bank robbery as well as three others, including the January 14, 2011 robbery of Clayton Bank and Trust located at 1182 Kingston Pike in Knoxville; the September 14, 2011 robbery of Tennessee Bank located at 900 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge; and the April 15, 2012 robbery of BB&T Bank located at 7109 Maynardville Pike in Knoxville.

This matter was a joint investigation of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force (which consists of personnel from the FBI, the Knoxville Police Department, and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office) and the Alcoa Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.