Suspect in bank robbery apprehended / LJWorld.com

A Lawrence bank was robbed for the second time in less than five months on Wednesday afternoon.

But this time, the culprit was caught.

Lawrence police responded about 3:30 p.m. to a call at the Central National Bank branch at 603 W. Ninth St., after a man walked into the bank and demanded money from tellers, who complied with his demands. He then left the bank with an undetermined sum of money.

A police officer in the area spotted the suspect, a 25-year-old Lawrence man. He was apprehended after a brief foot chase and taken into custody without further incident. Charges have yet to be filed against the suspect, according to the FBI, and Lawrence police declined to release more information about the case.

The bank was also robbed on July 14, when a suspect, described as a white man in his mid-20s, about 6 feet tall, with brown hair, wearing a green cap, blue jeans and a black zip-up coat, evaded capture after taking an undisclosed amount of money. Another unrelated bank robbery occurred the next day in Ottawa, and that suspect, Timothy Glen Caskey of Minnesota, was arrested in Texas days later, after allegedly kidnapping his wife and fleeing south.

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said her agency dispatched agents to assist with the investigation of Wednesday’s robbery. Robbing a bank is a federal crime.

“Robbing a bank is violation of federal statute so it does fall in the FBI’s jurisdiction,” she said. “But we have to have our local law enforcement with us; they are always the first responders to these (cases).”

Patton said she had no information that yesterday’s attempted heist was related to the July robbery. She said the FBI routinely compares similarities in all cases to look for possible links. There were 33 bank robberies in the Kansas City area last year; Patton said it is likely that 2011’s totals will be slightly higher.

Representatives of Central National Bank were unavailable for comment.

Reporters George Diepenbrock and Shaun Hittle contributed to this story.

jhawkinsf 2 years, 4 months ago

Three hots and a cot. Free medical. Conjugal visits. The ACLU advocating for better conditions, more rights in prison.
Some might think it's a pretty good deal.

skinny 2 years, 4 months ago

Good job LPD!!

sierraclub 2 years, 4 months ago

IT is even stranger that a thief actually found a Central National Bank that was open!

Ron Holzwarth 2 years, 4 months ago

I can hardly believe that people are so stupid as to rob a bank. Your chances of getting caught are so very high, and you're not going to get very much money anyway.

The only possible explanation is that it's done simply for the thrill of doing it.

Steve Jacob 2 years, 4 months ago

A bank with a security guard, that's rare.

commonsenselawrence 2 years, 4 months ago

Kudos to the LPD for a job well done!!!

Rockchalk- your comment peaked my interest so I checked LPD's website....452 calls in 48 hours.. Are you freaking kidding me!!! I was/am oblivious as to how busy our police department actually is, but rest assured, I will be more informed the next time they ask for additional personnel. Here are the links I found on their site:

http://police.lawrenceks.org/content/48-hours-lkpd-calls-mapped

http://police.lawrenceks.org/content/48-hours-calls

Incredible job and a big THANK YOU to the men and women wearing the uniform!!!