Suspect Meets 'Messy' End After 200-Foot Fall Through Garbage Chute After Bank Robbery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (TheBlaze/AP) — A suspect in a bank robbery met a "messy" end while trying to elude police, though not in the traditional use of the phrase.  According to reports, 26-year-old Robin Gutheridge tried to escape by jumping into a garbage chute, only to plunge over 200 feet to the ground.  Amazingly, he survived, but sustained severe injuries.

Gutheridge was on the 21st floor of the Clinton Plaza Apartments when he made the gamble, a few blocks from the Chase Bank Branch he had robbed earlier, according to Sgt. Tom Connellan.

When removed from the trash heap, Gutheridge was conscious and told police he had climbed to avoid being captured.

"He was able to slow himself down by holding the sides of chute, and the garbage may have cushioned the fall, but he did get severe injuries," Connellan said.

Syracuse police say they have identified the man accused of robbing a bank before falling 21 floors through chute in a nearby building. (Photo: Syracuse police via Syracuse.com)

Firefighters moved the compactor and removed Gutheridge from the chute, police said.

The suspect was in critical condition Friday at Upstate University Hospital, where he was in the intensive care unit with fractures and internal injuries, Connellan added.

A phone listing for him couldn't be found, and it wasn't clear whether he had a lawyer.

Police said Gutheridge fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash after robbing the bank. After detectives learned he was seen entering a nearby apartment building, they began searching building. That's when a maintenance worker told them he could hear someone calling for help from a garbage chute in the basement.

When the officers checked it out, they found Gutheridge trapped in the compactor, Connellan said. He had some of the bank's money on him, police said.

The suspect is under police guard at the hospital and will be charged with robbery when his condition improves, Connellan said.

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