According to a public information release from Officer Chuck McPhilamy of the Marietta Police Department, a suspect was apprehended after leaving the site of a bank robbery Wednesday.
He exited the Bank of America at 140 Cherokee Street near Marietta Square with several thousand dollars in allegedly stolen U.S. currency.
[The Cobb County Courier has a policy of withholding or redacting the name of suspects unless and until the person is convicted in a court of law or enters a plea of guilty. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty, and the internet has no effective way of removing reports of arrest if the person is exonerated. We do make exceptions in high-profile cases or charges against public officials where exoneration is likely to be as widely publicized as the initial arrest]
The public information release describes the incident as follows (name redactions by the Courier):
Quick thinking and swift work by all involved led to the capture of a two-time bank robber yesterday afternoon. Thirty-five-year-old [name redacted] of Smyrna was arrested yesterday as he exited the Bank of America at 140 Cherokee Street with several thousand dollars in stolen U.S. currency. According to bank employees, [name redacted] entered the bank just after 3:30 PM and showed a note to a teller threatening violence if they did not give him $5,000. He kept one hand under a towel and motioned as though he was holding a handgun. Bank employees activated the silent alarm system while their coworker gathered cash and handed it over to [name redacted] . When [name redacted] exited the bank moments later, he was greeted by several armed Marietta Police Department officers. [name redacted] refused to comply with verbal instructions but was taken into custody without incident.
Earlier the same day, the Wells Fargo bank at 602 Roswell Street was also robbed. In this robbery, the suspect was able to exit the building, evading capture, before 911 was notified and officers were dispatched. [name redacted] has been identified and charged as the suspect for that robbery as well.
The suspect was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, charged with multiple felony counts of “robbery by intimidation,” and he is being held without bond.
The public information release included the following information about the Marietta Police Department “Holiday Season Crime Prevention Plan:
Each year the command staff of the Marietta Police Department (MPD) formulate a “Holiday Season Crime Prevention Plan.” Knowing that crime rates traditionally increase in specific areas around the holidays, they implement several strategies to deter crime when possible as well as prepare officers to properly respond when it occurs. The swift coordinated response and safe capture of this suspect was a clear reflection of those plans and the intentional ongoing training being given to our officers. Chief Flynn noted that “the way our community trusts and works together with MPD is a large part of how our crime rates have remained so low for the last several years.“
The MPD commends the way the bank employees followed their protocols and contacted 911 for help as soon as they deemed it safe to do so. We also recognize the important role the Cobb County 911 call-takers and dispatchers played in this capture. If not for their swift transmission of information this two-time bank robbery may have escaped a second time.
