Bank robbery leads to car chase, fatal gunfight in Burtonsville
By Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer 11/21/08
The dead man was thought to have had two accomplices, but Montgomery County police ended their search Thursday afternoon with one suspect in custody and the other believed to have made it out of the area.
About 9:15 a.m. Thursday, two or three persons entered a Bank of America on Ten Oaks Road in Clarksville, tried to rob it and shot an employee in the hand. As of Thursday evening, police could not say whether all the robbers were armed or if they left the bank with any cash.
Police said the trio took off in a truck that they pursued through Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. At times, speeds reached 85 mph.
The three men bailed out of the vehicle on Angelton Court near Fairland Recreational Park. As two men ran off, the third repeatedly fired at pursuing officers from Montgomery, Prince George’s and Howard counties. The police fired back and the suspect was struck by an officer’s bullet. Police said they’re waiting on a ballistic analysis to determine which officer, and from which agency, fired the deadly round.
With the gunbattle over, police set up a grid in the Burtonsville neighborhood and searched for the remaining two men. Cars were stopped and checked, and police dogs were walked through residential streets as state police helicopters hovered overhead.
Officers locked down Paint Branch High School, Briggs Chaney and Benjamin Banneker middle schools, and Greencastle, Fairland and Burtonsville elementary schools, police said. Evening events were canceled at the East County Recreation Center and the Marilyn J. Praisner Recreation Center.
The search ended at 4 p.m. when police said they believed they had caught one of the remaining suspects. Police said it was likely that the remaining man had left the area. Police couldn’t confirm the third suspect’s description, but initial reports said he’s is black with a light complexion and in his 20s.
Drivers, police said, should not pick up hitchhikers, and residents of the area should remain on the lookout for suspicious people.
1 Comments
Reader Comments:
POSTED Nov 21, 2008
: "Let's wait and see how many other crimes they have been charged with and never punished. Criminals have a free ride in our state. The people are the prisoners having to live in fear of these protected criminals! My heart goes out to the police who dilligently do there jobs and then have to deal with the courts that continually free these individuals."