Monroe police say a man who they believe carried out an elaborate armored-car robbery involving an inner-tube getaway and unwitting decoys lured by a phony Craigslist ad has been linked to the crime through DNA evidence.

Police said they recovered a "significant" amount of money Monday night when they arrested 28-year-old Anthony J. Curcio, of Lake Stevens, at a department-store parking lot. Curcio is being held in the Snohomish County Jail on a warrant for first-degree robbery.

Police allege Curcio, dressed in a blue shirt, safety vest, particle mask and work boots, pepper-sprayed a Brinks armored-car guard outside of a Bank of America branch in Monroe on Sept. 30, grabbed a bag of money and ran toward nearby Woods Creek. At the same time, a dozen or so men dressed in similar clothing and particle masks had gathered near the bank, lured by a Craigslist ad seeking landscape workers. Police believe the ad was placed by the robber.

As Curcio ran, police said, he dropped a pepper-spray canister, a smaller bag of money, a hat, a wig, sunglasses and a particle mask.

Police later found an inner tube along the creek, but no sign of the robber.

On Tuesday, police said they're not sure how the inner tube came into play, but they believe Curcio either escaped on the inner tube himself or used it to float the money downstream.

"It was a significant amount of money," said Monroe Police Department spokeswoman Debbie Willis. "It would have been heavy and hard to carry."

A woman who answered the door at Curcio's listed address in a new subdivision in Lake Stevens on Tuesday declined to comment. A Windemere real-estate agent for the Summer Hill development, Mark Pellegrino, said that the family had been having financial troubles and faced foreclosure.

According to a birth notice that ran in The Everett Herald on Oct. 19, Curcio's wife gave birth to a baby daughter on Sept. 20, 10 days before the robbery.

Police said their break in the case came thanks to an observant citizen.

About three weeks before the robbery, a Monroe city employee was contacted by a homeless man who had found a pile of items behind a trash bin near the Bank of America.

The items included a black two-way radio, a yellow reflective safety vest, a black wig with a short ponytail, dark sunglasses, a large can of mace and a baseball cap, police said.