Fallon Police, FBI solve case in a week

FALLON - The Fallon Police Department, along with assistance from the FBI, arrested a 68-year-old Fallon man on Friday, charging him with last week's robbery of U.S. Bank.

Officers transported Donald A. Parcells from the police station to Banner Churchill Community Hospital for a checkup before taking him to the Churchill County Jail. Before they led Parcells out of the building, he quipped about "making the front page of the newspaper."

Police Chief Kevin Gehman said Parcells, who was wearing a pink and blue plaid long-sleeve shirt and jeans, will likely be held on state charges for bank robbery and eventually transferred to federal custody.

"A determination hasn't been made yet," Gehman said.

Parcells entered the bank one week ago at 2:50 p.m., demanding the teller put money in a bag. Gehman said the amount was under $3,000, but police have not recovered any money.

At the time, Gehman said the suspect was wearing blue jeans and a navy blue-colored hooded sweatshirt. His face was concealed with a pulled-down baseball-style hat and bandanna.

Once Parcells had the money, he walked to the Walmart parking lot and escaped from the area in his car, which was captured on video surveillance.

"Through the cooperation from several businesses, they provided access to their video systems," Gehman said. "A lot of the businesses came forward and volunteered to have us look at their video."

From there, detectives and the FBI put together a route of travel and timetable of Parcells' movement. Gehman said about 30 minutes after the robbery, Parcells was a person of interest. He said local law enforcement agencies - the Churchill County Sheriff's Office, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol - assisted. Gehman said information was also relayed to law enforcement agencies in adjacent counties.

Gehman said officers visited businesses asking people to identify the surveillance photos of the suspect and his car.

A day later, Gehman said Parcells became a primary suspect.

Gehman said the FBI spent time in Fallon on Thursday night and returned on Friday when Parcells was arrested. Officers went to Parcells' house near Oats Park and brought him in for questioning.

"Parcells confessed," Gehman said.