Police arrest suspect after series of armed bank robberies in Salem and Albany

Salem police have arrested a Salem man accused of a series of armed bank robberies in Salem and Albany over the past two weeks.

Police arrested 50-year-old Jason Lee Welty at his Southeast Lee Street apartment Tuesday evening.

Prosecutors charged him in Marion County District Court with three counts of second-degree robbery, a felony.

Welty is the prime suspect in three bank robberies in Salem and a fourth in Albany, Salem police said in a news release Wednesday.

The first bank robbery occurred on May 21 at the Valley Credit Union at 2096 Mission Street SE, and the second robbery occurred two days later on May 23 at the Chase Bank at 5135 Commercial Street SE. The third suspected robbery in Salem occurred on May 28 at the KeyBank at 1500 Edgewater Street NW.

The fourth robbery in Albany occurred on May 31 at the Northwest Community Credit Union at 707 Waverly Drive SE

All three robberies took place in the afternoon. They involved a man who threatened bank employees with a gun and demanded money. The suspect fled with varying amounts of cash and no bank employees were injured.

Welty was booked into the Marion County Jail and remains in custody as of Wednesday morning, according to jail records.

Salem police arrested Welty and booked him into the Marion County Jail. He was charged with three counts of second-degree robbery, three counts of first-degree theft and three counts of menacing.

Salem police expect Welty to face separate charges from Albany police in connection with the fourth Albany bank robbery, Salem police said.

Salem police were assisted by the FBI in Portland and the Albany police.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: (email protected) or 503-335-7790.

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Joe Siess is a reporter with the Salem Reporter. Joe joined the Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government, but loves a surprise. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News, and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially begins, and grew up in the Kansas City area.