Two masked men police said robbed Park Avenue Bank at gunpoint Tuesday morning were in custody within minutes, thanks to a Statesboro Police sergeant who spotted the suspects' getaway car.
Statesboro Police Capt. L.C. Williams said Neil Anthony Robinson, 25, Player's Club Apartments, and Danny DeWayne Irick, 24, North College Street, walked into the Northside Drive East branch of Park Avenue Bank near Wal-Mart around 10:52 a.m. Tuesday and demanded money.
One man held a gun, but Williams did not state which suspect was armed.
The men obtained an undetermined amount of cash before fleeing the building, then left in a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo, he said.
A lookout was immediately posted, and Sgt. Larry Kirkland spotted the Monte Carlo on Fair Road just three minutes later, and "gave pursuit," Williams said.
Kirkland stopped the pair on Georgia Avenue near Player's Club apartments, and took both Robinson and Irick into custody without incident, he said.
Inside the car, Kirkland and responding officers discovered "the currency that was taken during the robbery ... in addition to the gun, clothes and masks that were used," Williams said.
Agents from the Statesboro Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office joined the Statesboro Police Criminal Investigations Division in launching an investigation of the robbery, Williams said.
Trey Baird, spokesman for Park Avenue Bank, declined comment Monday afternoon, except to say "No one was injured – thank goodness for that."
Employees at Goodbirds restaurant across the road from the bank said they didn't noticed any unusual activity around the bank during the robbery. The bank branch, which normally closes at 4 p.m., did not reopen after the robbery.
Robinson and Irick were both taken to the Bulloch County Jail, charged with armed robbery and held without bond, according to jail records. Additional charges are possible.
"This case is still under investigation ..." Williams said.
The last armed bank robbery in Statesboro was April 27, 2004, when three Georgia Southern University students and the brother of one of the students, armed with guns including an assault rifle, walked into Sea Island Bank's Fair Road branch and conducted a dramatic robbery. The four suspects were apprehended three days later by Statesboro Police and FBI agents.
Statesboro Police Capt. L.C. Williams said Neil Anthony Robinson, 25, Player's Club Apartments, and Danny DeWayne Irick, 24, North College Street, walked into the Northside Drive East branch of Park Avenue Bank near Wal-Mart around 10:52 a.m. Tuesday and demanded money.
One man held a gun, but Williams did not state which suspect was armed.
The men obtained an undetermined amount of cash before fleeing the building, then left in a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo, he said.
A lookout was immediately posted, and Sgt. Larry Kirkland spotted the Monte Carlo on Fair Road just three minutes later, and "gave pursuit," Williams said.
Kirkland stopped the pair on Georgia Avenue near Player's Club apartments, and took both Robinson and Irick into custody without incident, he said.
Inside the car, Kirkland and responding officers discovered "the currency that was taken during the robbery ... in addition to the gun, clothes and masks that were used," Williams said.
Agents from the Statesboro Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office joined the Statesboro Police Criminal Investigations Division in launching an investigation of the robbery, Williams said.
Trey Baird, spokesman for Park Avenue Bank, declined comment Monday afternoon, except to say "No one was injured – thank goodness for that."
Employees at Goodbirds restaurant across the road from the bank said they didn't noticed any unusual activity around the bank during the robbery. The bank branch, which normally closes at 4 p.m., did not reopen after the robbery.
Robinson and Irick were both taken to the Bulloch County Jail, charged with armed robbery and held without bond, according to jail records. Additional charges are possible.
"This case is still under investigation ..." Williams said.
The last armed bank robbery in Statesboro was April 27, 2004, when three Georgia Southern University students and the brother of one of the students, armed with guns including an assault rifle, walked into Sea Island Bank's Fair Road branch and conducted a dramatic robbery. The four suspects were apprehended three days later by Statesboro Police and FBI agents.