Police search for lone robber of Marianna bank

By Deborah Buckhalter
Media General News Service

MARIANNA, Fla. - The Bank of Jackson County in Marianna was robbed just before the noon hour Thursday morning, the thief making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Marianna Police Chief Lou Roberts said the white male suspect indicated he had a weapon but never produced a firearm.

He entered the bank behind another customer around 10:30 a.m., approached a teller and presented a note demanding money. According to reports, he also verbally threatened the clerk and gestured "with his hand in his jacket as if he had a firearm concealed in his pocket."

He retrieved his note and left, Roberts said, and it is believed he was last seen running westbound along the sidewalk adjacent to U.S. 90 across the road from Wendy’s restaurant It is believed he may have then left the area in a vehicle.

He was not masked, Roberts said, but was wearing a gray hooded sweat jacket, a black baseball cap and dark short pants. He has black or dark brown hair and is approximately 5-feet, 6-inches tall.

No one was injured in the hold-up.

"It happened very quickly; he was in and out in a very short time," Roberts said.

The bank re-opened for business shortly after investigators finished their work in and around the building.

Tracking dogs from Apalachee Correctional Institution near Sneads and from Jackson Correctional Institution in Malone were used in the search for the robber, but were unable to establish a substantial trail to follow.

"They picked up a couple of indications, but there’s so much foot traffic in the area that it made tracking difficult," Roberts said.

An employee of the bank called 911 to report the robbery, and officers from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the case. Roberts said the FBI has also been notified and will likely be involved in the continuing case.

Anyone with information in the matter is asked to call the MPD at 526-3125 or CrimeStoppers at 526-5000.