By Staff
DUSTING FOR PRINTS Detective Dean Harper works the crime scene at the 23rd Avenue branch of Citizen's National Bank following a bank robbery there Thursday. Photo by Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
Sept. 14, 2001
Meridian police are searching for a man who robbed a local bank teller at gunpoint Thursday and fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
Meridian Police Lt. Wade Johnson said a man wearing a white cap and sunglasses entered the Citizen's National Bank branch on 23rd Avenue at 10:19 a.m., displaying a handgun and demanding money.
Johnson said the teller complied and the man fled on foot north of the bank; he said Meridian police "saturated the area" to find the suspect. Lauderdale County Sheriff's deputies also helped in the search.
The Citizen's National Bank robbery was the latest in a growing number of armed robberies and attempted armed robberies that have plagued Meridian businesses and residents in recent months.
The Meridian Star filed a formal request with the MPD on Aug. 27, citing the Public Records Act of Mississippi and requesting statistics that show the number and location of all armed robberies and attempted armed robberies this year.
The MPD has until Monday to fill or deny the public records request.
On Thursday morning, MPD investigators dusted for fingerprints on the front door of Citizen's National Bank. They were still interviewing witnesses to the robbery late Thursday afternoon.
Branch manager Kris Bryan said the bank re-opened at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday. He said that all of the tellers "are fine. Everybody is fine, and no one was hurt."
Next door to the bank, people working on the exterior of the Alpha School of Dance said they didn't see anything unusual.
Smith said he had been up and down a ladder. The suspect could have run in and out of the bank while he was on the ground, he said.
Toby Warren said he wishes he and the others had seen the suspect.
Marianne Todd is a staff writer for the Meridian Star. Call her at 693-1551, ext. 3236, or e-mail her at mtodd@themeridianstar.com. Reporter Sheila Blackmon contributed to this report.