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Man ‘fishing for cash’ at bank drop boxes across Snohomish County behind bars

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — The man officials say was “fishing for cash” at more than a dozen banks across Snohomish County, including Bothell and Mount Vernon, is now behind bars.

Officials said that 27-year-old Sean Stewart has been on this “fishing expedition” for months. They said it started back in January of this year.

Court documents say that Stewart had been using a rodent-glue trap attached to a fishing hook and fishing line to try to get money out of night deposit boxes.

“This particular method is pretty unique, we haven’t seen that one before,” Jason Toner, chief of the Stanwood Police Department, said. “He basically started months and months ago and started doing this little fishing for cash out of a bunch of night drops at local banks.”

At a Wells Fargo in Stanwood, police say Stewart was unsuccessful. An employee of the bank found one of Stewart’s traps stuck to a deposit bag.

“(In) July, he came to Stanwood and tried to do it in Stanwood. He didn’t get anything, but we got some video of him,” Toner said. Despite all of his attempts, he didn’t get away with much.

“He was only successful a few times out of the many times he tried at area banks,” Toner said. Stewart was arrested in South Everett and booked into the Snohomish County Jail. He faces 13 counts of burglary in the second degree.