The man suspected of robbing a Coos Bay bank has a violent criminal history in the area, including assaulting a police officer 17 years ago.

Investigators suspect former Coos Bay resident Dean J. Perri in holdups of Wells Fargo bank branches in Coos Bay and Woodburn before and after the holiday weekend.

“We’ve dealt with him before,” said Coos Bay Capt. Cal Mitts.

Police began looking for the 39-year-old after a man walked into the Coos Bay bank Friday morning, told a teller he was armed and demanded money. The culprit left on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Mitts said Perri lived in Coos County at least until the late 1990s, but he is not sure what city the man now calls home.

According to Coos County Circuit Court records, Perri was convicted of a number of charges from April 1992 through March 1999, including unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying/using a dangerous weapon, first-degree theft, assaulting a public safety officer, second-degree forgery and fourth-degree assault. A civil stalking case in Lane County is set to be heard on Oct. 19.

Perri is described as more than 6 feet tall, with a medium build and numerous tattoos. He is associated with a green 1993 Ford Taurus with Oregon license plate 615ACS. Perri is considered armed and dangerous and should not be confronted, police said in a press release.

FBI and the Woodburn Police Department also are searching for a man of a similar description who escaped in a green Ford Taurus SHO with a fin, following the 10:28 a.m. robbery of the Woodburn Wells Fargo at 2600 Newberg Highway, in Woodburn on Monday. According to an FBI press release, the robber flashed a note and a gun in his waistband to a bank employee.

Mitts said there is a high possibility that Perri is connected to this case, as well.

Woodburn witnesses described the robber as a white man, about 30 years old, about 6-foot-4,  weighing about 180 pounds. He had a goatee and wore a baseball hat.

FBI Special Agent Michael J. Kummerman, who serves as a public information officer for the bureau, said he could not comment on any connection between the two cases because he was not familiar with the Coos Bay incident.

 Anyone with information regarding Perri is encouraged to contact a local police department. Those with information on the Woodburn bank robbery is urged to call the FBI in Salem at (503) 763-7501 during normal business hours; the FBI in Portland at (503) 224-4181 24 hours a day; or the Woodburn Police Department at (503) 982-2345.