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Three with guns rob bank By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer  | Photo by Sue Watson
Crime scene
Authorities were quickly on the scene the afternoon of Wednesday, May 19, investigating the armed robbery of the Slayden bank. |
The
Slayden Branch of the Bank of Holly Springs was held up by armed
robbers at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, according to sheriff Kenny
Dickerson. Three black male suspects wearing
bandannas or black masks and flashing big handguns came into the bank
and demanded cash from tellers, he said. Two of
the three suspects jumped atop the tellers’ desks and got behind the
cash drawers to take a significant amount of money, the sheriff said. A
third suspect remained in the lobby, pointing a gun and admonishing
tellers to do as instructed if they didn’t want to be harmed, Dickerson
said. All three suspects had dark-colored handguns and are believed to be in their early 20s, he said. After
taking the cash, the three suspects fled on foot to a small red car
parked to the rear of a store on the north side of the bank. While
local law enforcement was dispatched to the scene, other sheriff’s
office personnel got in touch with state and surrounding law
enforcement agencies in an effort to surveil the area. Helping with the
investigation were agents with the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s
Criminal Investigation Bureau and uniformed patrol officers as well as
FBI agents. The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department dispatched a
helicopter to the area.  | Getaway vehicle
A
fourth suspect may have remained in the getaway vehicle - thought to be
a burnt orange, late model Toyota or Nissan. A photo of what is thought
to be the getaway car was captured by cameras from the nearby store. |
Sheriff Dickerson urged
anyone who has information that may be of help in identifying suspects
or the get-away vehicle to call the sheriff’s office at 662-252-1311 or
Marshall County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-729-2169. All information
provided will be kept in strict confidence, he said. A small reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects has been
offered. A dark-colored mask believed to have
been worn by one of the suspects was found alongside North Slayden Road
at a private driveway entrance and was retained for forensic analysis,
Dickerson said. He commended bank tellers on their behavior under stress. “Their
behavior is commendable in my opinion,” he said. “They acted as any
employee should act who is being held at gunpoint, following suspects’
instructions with those weapons pointed at them.” A
photo of what is believed to have been the get-away vehicle - a burnt
orange late model Toyota Corolla or Nissan was captured on a store
camera north of the bank. In a separate
incident Wednesday of last week, a woman’s home was invaded and she was
raped late in the night, Dickerson said. The victim lived in a mobile
home outside the city limits of Holly Springs. The perpetrator pried
off the rear door of her mobile home and after entering, physically and
sexually assaulted the victim, Dickerson said. Following
the rape, the suspect took a television from the victim’s home.
Investigators with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and the
Mississippi Highway Patrol worked this incident Wednesday night and the
rest of the week. |
