Heflin, Alabama, Police Chief A.J. Benefield does not have much experience with bank robberies, but that did not stop his officers from nabbing a foursome of suspects earlier this week.
Benefield attributed the successful arrest to a combination of luck, an alert citizen and good police work.
The robbery took place Wednesday at the appropriately named Small Town Bank. According to police, four people rushed the bank, hopped over counters yelling and demanding money.
Benefield said one of the tellers was on the phone at the time with a customer and mentioned the robbery. The customer immediately hung up and dialed 911. A bank employee also tripped the silent alarm automatically alerting police.
But it was the preceding 911 call that gave officers the extra time they needed. Officer Danny Turner, who was driving just in front of the chief as they made their way toward the bank, spotted a car matching the description of the getaway vehicle and noticed that it had no license plate.
That sparked a chase that ended on Interstate 20 near the Georgia line. If not for the phone tip, Benefield said, the officers likely would have missed the vehicle by a matter of minutes.
Watch the end of the chase here:
“It was the difference in us catching them, pretty much,” he said.
Benefield, Turner and Officer Ross Mcglaughn, who was driving a third patrol car, pursued the vehicle to U.S. 9 and then about a mile to Interstate 20. From there, according to the chief, the chase proceeded for about 14 miles until police managed to force the car off the road at the 213-mile marker.
“We wrecked them,” he said.
After the car struck the concrete median, the driver and three other men got out and ran toward the woods. Benefield said police immediately apprehended one of the suspects and tracked down the other three in short order.
Police charged all four men: Kenyatta Dee Cosby, 46, of College Park, Georgia; Derrick Antonio Owens, 47, of Atlanta; Brice Mercevious Kimbro, 22, of Atlanta; and Travis Omere Montford, 30, of Decatur, Georgia.
Benefield said it appears the out-of-town defendants chose Small Town Bank at random.
Heflin, population 3,472, is the Cleburne County seat. It is quiet, and Benefield said he likes it that way.
“We don’t even like them (criminals) passing through,” he said.
Bank robberies are a rarity.
“This is only the second one I’ve seen in 21, 22 years,” he said.
That holdup occurred near the beginning of Benefield’s tenure, and police also solved that crime quickly. He said officers tracked down the robber on foot at the edge of town. He said he stresses rapid response.
“Any time we get an alarm at any time, we respond very quickly to our businesses and homes,” he said. “We really pride ourselves on that.”
Benefield added that the police try to prevent crime as much as possible and not just react to it.
“We’re not firemen,” he said. “We’re not reactive.”
@BrendanKKirby is a senior political reporter at LifeZette and author of “Wicked Mobile.”
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.