Arrest made in 2013 shooting death of man trying to stop bank robber at local Giant Eagle

SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — An arrest has been made in the 2013 shooting death of Vincent Kelley, the man who was killed while trying to stop a bank robber at the Giant Eagle in South Strabane Township.

According to Washington County officials, DNA linked the suspect, identified as Keith Wilk, to the case.

Kelley ran after a bank robber who was fleeing the Citizens Bank inside the store. Vincent tackled the robber, which caused the bank dye to explode, before the robber shot and killed him.

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“As far as I’m concerned, he’s a hero because he did save other people’s lives,” Vincent’s brother, Mark Kelley, said in a previous interview with Channel 11.

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The cold case caught the attention of the FBI who said the suspect got away in a white car that likely had red dye in it from a dye pack.

There was a major break in the unsolved case when police connected it to another robbery. A Bridgeville jewelry store had been robbed just two days earlier.

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In both cases, the suspect wore a straw hat and carried an open black umbrella.

The FBI nicknamed the suspect the “Straw Hat Bandit.” He was on their most wanted list.

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Wilk is facing several charges, including criminal homicide, robbery, multiple aggravated assault charges, firearms not to be carried without license and multiple recklessly endangering another person charges.

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