Chris Lanham, public information officer for Kentucky State Police, said a man walked into the bank on Lexington Street and brandished a handgun along with his own money bag shortly after 12 p.m. He left with an undetermined amount of cash and rode off with a woman in a gray four-door Saturn parked in the bank's drive-thru exit lane.
Authorities were alerted of the robbery at 12:25 p.m., Lanham said, and had information that the couple had proceeded north on 27. Shortly after, a Garrard County bailiff spotted the vehicle and followed it, maintaining contact with responding police units.
Because of Bailiff Mike McQueary's call and the joint effort that followed, the couple were apprehended just over the county line in Jessamine County less than 15 minutes after the initial call came in, Lanham said.
Assistant Police Chief Wanda Shelton and Officer David Shepherd and Trooper Chris Damron pursued the suspects north on 27.
"A unit at Rocky Top attempted to use stingers to stop the car," Lanham said, referring to long strips of spikes that are unfolded across the roadway, used to deflate the tires on moving vehicles. However, Herren was able to drive around them.
After the stingers proved unsuccessful, Lanham said KSP and Jessamine County Sheriff's Department were awaiting the vehicle's arrival into Jessamine County by setting up a moving road block. As vehicles moved in on the robbers, the male passenger was seen throwing a weapon out of the car, along with the cash, at the county line.
The couple were taken into custody about 12:39 p.m. on Poortown Road, just across the Kentucky River bridge in the Camp Nelson area. No one was injured during the apprehension of the suspects.
A group of men, said to be volunteer firefighters, were later on the scene helping to retrieve the bills. "We hope we collected all of the money that was taken," Lanham said, but he was unsure how much was retrieved.
The investigation at the bank continued on into the afternoon with detectives and officers still dusting for prints and interviewing employees while the suspects were interviewed at the Lancaster police station.
The case remains under investigation by KSP Detective Monte Owens.
Lanham said small towns are always at extra risk for attempted bank robberies.
"It's a perception that there's not a strong police presence in these areas, but because of continued radio communication between three agencies, we were able to apprehend these suspects without any danger to other innocent motorists," Lanham said.
