Hoopa man indicted by FBI for string of robberies

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CA. – The United States Department of Justice is indicting a Hoopa man for a streak of armed robberies.

33-year-old Harwood Francis McCovey is suspected of four bank robberies, and robbing a Shell Gas station in Humboldt County in the summer of 2016.

McCovey allegedly used a dangerous weapon in each incident.

The first robbery was reported on July 20, at a bank in Henderson Center, the next on July 27, at a credit union in the Eureka Mall, the third on July 31 at Shell Gas Station in McKinleyville.

The next month, on August 4, he is suspected of targeting a credit union in Eureka again, and on August 12, a bank in Fortuna.

If convicted, McCovey could face 25 years in prison for each bank robbery, and 20 years in prison for the Hobbs Act robbery charge.

Eureka police, Fortuna police, FBI agents and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office collaborated on the investigation.