Robbery suspect stabs himself before arrest

Police said the incident began when a Zions Bank branch at 5 N. Main was held up Friday morning. An officer responding to the bank robbery spotted the man's Saab and pulled it over near 400 North and 500 West.

"The vehicle pulled into the parking lot at J & L Garden Center, he pulled into a parking stall," said Bountiful Police Sgt. Scott Isakson. "As (the officers) were approaching the vehicle, they could see he had a knife and appeared to be stabbing himself in the stomach."

Witnesses said the officers smashed out the driver's window and opened the passenger door, using a Taser to subdue him.

"I saw the cops rush the car and heard a pop," said Jay Barber, an employee at the greenhouse. "They grabbed him and pulled him out onto the ground. They yelled at him two or three times to get out."

The man was rushed to an ambulance and went into full cardiac arrest at one point, Isakson said. A medical helicopter was brought in to fly 51-year-old William Duffy to University Hospital, where he was reported to be in critical condition.

Police said they recovered money from the car and a note but would not go into details. At the Zions Bank branch, the FBI was on the scene investigating the robbery.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com

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