ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
QUICK-FOOTED MASKED MAN vaults over a desk and empties three cash drawers in about 20 seconds.
When a man robbed a Daleville bank Monday afternoon, he didn't waste any time.
He ran into the Bank of Fincastle about 1:20 p.m., jumped over a desk and made his way behind the teller counter. He quickly emptied three cash drawers, then fled.
"He probably wasn't in the bank 20 seconds," said Sgt. D.A. Dudding of the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office.
The quick-footed masked man, who was unarmed, never said a word. He ran into a brushy area behind the bank in the direction of the Appalachian Trail.
The robbery happened so fast that none of the tellers had time to sound an alarm. However, a bank employee was on the telephone with a colleague at a different branch when the man rushed in, Dudding said. She told her colleague the bank was being robbed. He hung up immediately and called the Sheriff's Office.
Fifteen minutes later, a deputy saw a man who matched the suspect's description standing three or four buildings down from the bank, which is on U.S. 220. The man, who was carrying a green bag, ran into a brushy area when he saw the deputy.
The deputy caught up to David Ray Martin, 30, of Botetourt County and arrested him. Martin is charged with grand larceny and wearing a mask to conceal his identity. He was held at the county jail on $20,000 bond.
Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said he considered charging Martin with robbery, but decided against it because it appeared no force was used against anyone, nor was there a threat of force in the incident - a requirement for a robbery charge.
Branscom said he would review a videotape from the bank's security camera.
Martin did not have a bag with him when he was arrested, but deputies found one stashed under briars and brush. The stolen money was in it. The Sheriff's Office wouldn't say how much cash was recovered, but it took deputies several hours to count it.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB