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A 19-year-old from Oregon City facing theft charges in two state courts now faces a federal charge: bank robbery. (The Oregonian File Photo)

(The Oregonian/File)

A 19-year-old facing theft charges in Clackamas and Washington counties now is facing a federal bank robbery allegation.

Jeremiah James Tracy of Oregon City was led into federal court Wednesday afternoon, accused of holding up a Chase Bank inside the Fred Meyer on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway on April 6.

Jeremiah J. Tracy, 19

Tracy walked up to a teller, according to the FBI, and passed a note that read, "Give me 1000$ from your till now!''

A teller, who described Tracy as fidgety, handed him an envelope of cash before Tracy quickly left the bank, a federal affidavit said.

The note passed was sent to the Oregon State Crime lab. Five days after the robbery, the lab reported it had obtained a latent fingerprint from the demand note, which matched that of Tracy, the affidavit said.

By then, Tracy was in the Washington County jail, where he had turned himself in on an unrelated case.

Tracy admitted to detectives that he had robbed the Chase bank, according to a federal affidavit.

He said he ran from the Fred Meyer to the Beaverton Transit Center, where he boarded a MAX train to Portland. He told investigators he met with other men to buy heroin and was robbed of the cash, FBI Special Agent Nathan Houle wrote in the affidavit. Tracy had two black eyes when he turned himself in to the Washington County jail, the affidavit said.

Tracy directed police to his father's garage in Oregon City, where they found the clothes he wore during the bank robbery in a paper bag.

Tracy made a brief appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland. His court-appointed lawyer, Susan Wilk, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to the bank robbery charge.

Tracy also has theft charges in Clackamas and Washington counties.

In Clackamas County, he's accused of third-degree theft and possession of heroin from a March incident. Last week, he pleaded guilty to third-degree theft in Washington County, where he was accused of stealing merchandise from a Cabela's store. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, according to court records.

Tracy remains in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center. A one-day trial on the bank robbery charge is set for June 20 in federal court.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian