Pair accused of robbing Convoy bank are arrested

1/7/2004

CONVOY, Ohio - Two men, one armed with a knife, entered a Van Wert County bank and robbed it yesterday but were arrested less than a half-hour later, police said.

Derrick Briggs, 19, of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Michael Sanders, 18, of Fort Benning, Ga., were arrested just before 2 p.m. Both men were charged with aggravated bank robbery and were being held in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

One of the suspects entered the U.S. Bank in Convoy about 1:30 p.m. to use the restroom. A short time later, the second suspect entered the bank, saying he wanted to open an account, according to the county s sheriff s office.

Witnesses said the man came out of the restroom with the knife and placed it on the throat of the other man, who later turned out to be his accomplice. After getting an undisclosed amount of money from the bank, the two men fled on foot to their getaway vehicle.

Sheriff s deputies were able to obtain a description of the suspects and their vehicle from a Convoy resident and put the information out to all law enforcement agencies. Van Wert police stopped the vehicle shortly afterward.