OAKDALE – Suffolk County Police Major Case Investigations Unit detectives are investigating two Washington Mutual bank robberies committed by the same person Wednesday.

A man entered the bank branch at 138 East Main Street in Smithtown at 1:10 p.m. and approached a teller with a threatening note demanding cash. The teller gave the man a receipt with a code to receive cash from a dispensing machine. At that branch, tellers are unable to dispense cash. Cash is dispensed from a customer cash machine by entering a code issued by a teller. The robber was unfamiliar with the procedure and fled the bank without getting any money.     

The same man entered another bank branch at 951 Montauk Highway in Oakdale at after 2 p.m. and approached a teller with a note demanding cash and threatening to use a gun. The teller complied and gave him money with a dye pack. The robber fled through a rear door.