Robbery suspect killed, 1 arrested

7/2/2003

A Carey, Ohio, man was killed and another man from Carey was arrested after the pair attempted to rob a bank in rural Virginia, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said.

Lonnie Russell, 26, was shot and killed by deputies after leading them on a nearly 30-minute chase through two counties. A second suspect, David Thompson, Jr., 20, was arrested without incident and charged with armed bank robbery. He is being held in the Charlotte County Jail without bond.

Charlotte County Sheriff's Investigator Howard Hobgood said Mr. Russell, armed with an assault rifle, entered the Phenix branch of the Bank of Charlotte County about 9:30 a.m. Friday. He fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

To evade pursuing deputies, he broke into an older woman's home and stole her car at gunpoint. The suspect then led officers on a chase into a neighboring county, during which time he shot at them numerous times. Six patrol cars from various departments were damaged, and an officer from neighboring Campbell County was hurt when shattered glass from a window hit him in the face. A pickup truck was damaged when the suspect fired at a man who stopped to help what he believed had been an accident, Mr. Hobgood said.

Mr. Russell was killed during a shootout with officers. Deputies arrested Mr. Thompson, whom they traced to a relative's home through a cell phone left in a vehicle with Ohio license plates in the robbery's vicinity.

Mr. Hobgood said Mr. Thompson was the suspected get-away driver; more charges may be filed against him.