THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 25, 1994 TAG: 9408250624
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: KAREN E. QUINONES MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
He seemed like such a nice guy.
A Norfolk woman was struggling to put her two children, a baby carriage and a stroller into her car in the 700 block of 22nd St. when a young man who had been jogging stopped to lend a hand.
The woman did not know the man, Leon A. Norman, 27, of the 1500 block of Delevan St. was a suspect in a bank robbery which had occurred a few minutes earlier.
Police gave this account:
About 11:30 a.m. a man fitting Norman's description entered the NationsBank at 1916 Colonial Ave. and passed a note and a paper bag to a teller. The note instructed the teller to fill the bag with cash.
After the teller complied, the man ran out of the bank and police were called. A few minutes later a description of the man was broadcast over police radios.
Officer B.L. Diggs was patrolling the 700 block of 22nd St. and saw a man jogging.
Right after Diggs' patrol car turned a corner she heard the description of the bank robbery suspect. It fit the jogger. She called for backup and went back to confront the man.
By this time, Norman had finished helping the woman get the children settled in the car, and asked for a ride.
She told him no. It was her children's nap time, and she had to get them home to bed. The man persisted.
The woman hesitated. She didn't know the man, but he did seem tired after doing all that jogging, and he had been so considerate to stop and help her.
She agreed. The man climbed into the passenger seat, and pulled off his shirt.
The woman was about to pull off from the curb when Diggs and other officers stopped her car. They questioned Norman briefly, and then arrested him.
The woman gave a statement to police on the scene and was allowed to go on her way.
KEYWORDS: BANK ROBBERY
by CNB