To catch a thief
Big Sandy News staff members’ quick thinking helps police to catch bank robber; had bag of money in car

Quick thinking by staff members of the Big Sandy News helped make an arrest in a bank robbery case and perhaps prevented a second bank heist.

It started when the Community Trust Bank in Fort Gay, W. Va., was robbed on Jan. 10. Police in West Virginia took copies of photos of the robber, who had been caught on the bank’s security camera, to the Big Sandy News because it was thought the robber was from Eastern Kentucky. Police asked the paper to publish the photos to see if any readers recognized him.

Louisa bureau chief Mindi Thompson complied with the request and was preparing an update on the situation when another clue arrived.

In Inez, bureau chief Lilly Adkins was working on a story about the arrest of a Martin County man who had been stopped for reckless driving. Police told Adkins that the man had a plastic bag full of money in his possession.

That’s when the paper’s staff members passed along the photos to Martin County Sheriff Darriel Young who identified the reckless driver as the man in the hold-up photo.

The suspect had already posted bond on the reckless driving charge and had been released from jail. But it didn’t take police long to locate the suspect. After he was back in custody, he confessed to the crime and even told police he had another hold-up planned for later that week.