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Detectives recovered a note during a search of their possessions that said, "This is a robbery. I have a gun. Empty your till."

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two people believed to be involved in over 10 bank robberies in Oregon and Washington were arrested Wednesday night, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said. Detectives recovered a note during a search of their possessions that said, "This is a robbery. I have a gun. Empty your till."

Andrew Bekman, 31, and Amira "Sage" Askew, 28, were charged with first-degree robbery after confessing to the Umpqua Bank robbery on Northeast 134th Street in Vancouver earlier this month. The duo is also suspected to be involved in other bank robberies in the Vancouver and Portland metro area dating back to June 2024.

While executing a search warrant Friday, detectives seized clothing matching those worn in multiple robberies, as well as firearms, ballistic vests, stolen vehicles and the note.

Bekman and Askew first got on law enforcement's radar with a robbery of an Umpqua Bank in Vancouver on Nov. 6. Staff told law enforcement that a man and woman wearing face masks had just robbed the bank.

Arresting documents reveal that Askew handed a teller a note saying, "This is a robbery." Bekman than yelled at that teller, demanding money and pointing to what appeared to be a silhouette of a pistol in his jacket. The pair left with just over $8,000 in cash. Surveillance video captured the robbery.

A tip from the public helped identify the two people and where they live in Battle Ground. After their arrests, Bekman and Askew confessed to the Umpqua Bank robbery, among with several others, the Clark County Sheriff's Office reported in a news release.

Law enforcement connected Askew to several robberies in the Portland metro through an outstanding arrest warrant in Clackamas County, which helped identity her.

After his arrest, Bekman told officials that Askew and her boyfriend had asked him to help with the bank robbery to make quick cash. Her boyfriend had recently been injured in a shooting and the couple needed help because he could not be the "muscle," the arresting document said.

He said he only wore the mask to conceal his identity and that he was told to "pretend he had a pistol." When they left the bank, Bekman said her boyfriend was waiting for them in the parking lot and drove the car to the house in Battle Ground.

Bekman said that Askew and her boyfriend "never ended up" paying him for his help, even though he was told he would be paid. Bekman told officials that he only agreed to do it so he could keep buying propane to "keep his cats warm."

He also retains a felony warrant in Clackamas County, CCSO said.

In an interview after the arrest, Askew told officials that the Umpqua Bank robbery was her first and that she did it to pay medical bills. A previous 911 call to the Battle Ground house on Nov. 1 reported a 28-year-old female having "blood in stool and feeling faint," arresting documents said. It hasn't been confirmed whether this female was Askew.

"It was not supposed to go that way," Askew told officials in response to seeing her photos on television news reports after the robbery.

The two appeared in Clark County court on Thursday for their first appearance. The judge set bail for Askew at $150,000 and $100,000 for Bekman. Bekman has a warrant for his arrest out of Clackamas County for an unlawful possession of methamphetamine and prostitution charges. Askew has a bench warrant for her arrest out of Clackamas County for a charge of assaulting a public safety officer.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A growing encampment in Vancouver off of Mill Plain Boulevard is becoming a source of frustration — for both nearby homeowners and campers who say they have nowhere else to go when their belongings get swept away during clean-up efforts.

The encampment is located near a concrete wall — known as the “Sound Wall” — between Lincoln Avenue and Franklin Street.

Homeowners who live next to the Sound Wall said they’re fed up with the trash, human feces, needles and loud noises that go on at all hours.

“It’s a sanitation thing, it’s everything. It’s a terrible situation,” said homeowner Brian Amell. “It’s bad. They’re out at night, looking for things. My outlets here on the ground, they come and charge their phones and their devices up at night, I had to turn those off.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Sound Wall, Arcasa Red Thunder lives at the encampment.

“Support your fellow man, is what I figure, you know. We already know it’s hard enough out here,” he said.

Red Thunder said he thinks it’s a “mean” thing for the city to subject people to sweeps and issue citations to those struggling with homelessness who can’t afford them.

“Cleaning up people’s camps and then kind of like taking away their lives, just because, you know… I got a ticket today,” Red Thunder said.

The issue reached a boiling point during a Vancouver City Council meeting Monday night.

“I do hope each and every one of you regularly walk along Mill Plain and go down by the Share House and take in what you’ve created, because it’s really very disgusting,” testified a neighbor, Steve Herman.

“We do have a plan for clearing the Sound Wall and then prohibiting camping along the Sound Wall,” said City of Vancouver Homeless Response Manager Jamie Spinelli during the meeting.

Red Thunder said he isn’t sure where he would go if the encampment was cleared after KOIN 6 News witnessed active sweeps happening in the city on Wednesday.

“I don’t know, across the street? I’m just kidding. I’m Native American, you know, where am I gonna go? Back to where I came from? That’s lame,” he said.

People who work closely with the homeless population have theories as to why there was such a sudden influx of tents at the Sound Wall. Among the many factors is the fact that the City of Portland, directly across the Columbia River, recently passed a camping ban.

KOIN 6 spoke with outreach workers with the non-profit Recovery Cafe. They think the many tents at the Sound Wall are the result of a combination of the Portland camping ban, scarce available shelters in Vancouver and the clearing of other large campsites in the city. The Recovery Cafe workers said they’ve seen 75 tents pop up at the site in just the last few weeks.

KOIN 6 asked the City of Vancouver for comment on the tensions surrounding the Sound Wall encampment or potential solutions but they were unavailable.

However, city officials said during Monday’s council meeting that they have a list of nearly 50 campers they plan to use to get people into transitional housing, prioritizing shelter space for those currently staying at the Sound Wall.

There was one thing almost everyone — neighbors and campers alike — agreed on about the issue: the need for more services and affordable housing.

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