The man, identified by Prince George's County police as Andre LaVar Evans of Churchton, had a long history of bank robberies in Anne Arundel - dating back to when he was just 16 years old, according to electronic court records and The Capital's archives. He was released from federal prison just over a year ago, said his wife, who asked that her name not be used.

Prince George's police say Mr. Evans walked into the PNC bank at 1344 Crain Highway at 10:08 a.m. Thursday, wearing a white scarf over his hands and face.

He approached a teller and said, "Give me the money or I'll kill you," according to a Bowie police report.

The teller put $1,497 in a white bag and handed it over. Mr. Evans took the cash and jumped into a black tow truck with turquoise lettering on the side. He did not display a weapon during the robbery, the report said.

There were two employees in the bank at the time, said Officer Henry Tippett, a Prince George's police spokesman.

Investigators quickly linked Mr. Evans to the crime, and asked Anne Arundel police to search for "a possible bank robbery suspect" at a south county home on Essex Street, said Sgt. John Gilmer, a county police spokesman. The home belongs to family members of Mr. Evans' wife.

Seven minutes after county officers arrived at the modest, water-privileged home, Mr. Evans pulled into Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis to find his wife at her company picnic, she said. She had dropped her phone that morning, and he had not been able to get in contact with her. After he arrived at the park, he gave his wife a spare phone and kissed her goodbye. She said everything appeared to be fine.

Mr. Evans next drove out of the park, informing rangers at the exit that he was going to shoot himself.

He stopped the blue Ford van he was driving on the roadway. While rangers were on the phone with police, they heard a gunshot, county police said. Mr. Evans was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr. Evans' wife was told about her husband's death moments later. She said police searched her pickup and her clothing. She had no idea what they were looking for.

"It was extremely embarrassing," she said. "It was just an awful situation all around."

Though they would not elaborate on how they connected Mr. Evans to the morning bank robbery, Prince George's County police said he is their guy.

"He is the same guy who robbed the bank last Thursday," Officer Tippett said. "The investigators just said the suspect was found in Anne Arundel County by their officers, and he had died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

He speculated that police possibly tracked him down based on the lettering on the tow truck that fled the robbery.

Mr. Evans' wife said her husband worked for a towing company.

A history of crime

In the past 15 years, Mr. Evans had pleaded guilty at least twice to bank robbery, electronic court records show.

In late 1993, Mr. Evans, who was then 16, was placed under house arrest after being charged as an adult in the robbery of Washington Savings Bank on Old Mill Road in Millersville.

After his arrest, police said he confessed to six other robberies in the county, including Citizens Bank of Maryland in Annapolis and Carrollton Bank, according to newspaper archives.

Two years later, Mr. Evans was indicted for robbing four local banks that summer: Washington Federal Savings Bank in Edgewater; First Union Bank of Maryland in Parole Plaza; and the First Virginia Bank of Maryland in Edgewater. Mr. Evans later pleaded guilty to robbing the First Virginia Bank of Maryland in a plea agreement that dismissed the robbery charges at the other banks.

And in 2000 he was sentenced to 7 years and 9 months in federal prison after he admitted to five bank robberies at three banks in Parole, according to court records.

According to newspaper archives, Mr. Evans stole a total of $28,839 during a two-month robbery spree in the fall of 1999. Some of the money was recovered. In U.S. District Court in Baltimore he pleaded guilty to one count bank robbery for robbing a First Mariner Bank on Jennifer Road in Parole. He was released in February 2007, his wife said.

Before his arrest in that case, Mr. Evans led Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Maryland State police on a high-speed chase from Parole to Washington, D.C. One of his tires blew out during the pursuit, so he dumped the vehicle and fled on foot. After family members identified him as the robber, Mr. Evans turned himself in that night.

Mr. Evans' wife said she was shocked to hear her husband had anything to do with a bank robbery before his death Thursday afternoon. She said her husband had been trying to get his life together since he got out of prison just over a year ago.

He was going to school and had a 3.8 GPA, she said. He had a good job, helped take care of his three stepchildren and had just gotten married in February.

"It doesn't add up," she said. "It just doesn't go together. And no one will talk to me. I don't understand, and they (law officials) have kept me in the dark on everything.

" … I just know he was a wonderful person. He was always smiling when we were together. We didn't have any problems. I just don't know what happened that day."

Staff Writer Jane McHugh contributed to this story.