News from December
9, 2004 issue
Gunman
robs Farmers Bank in Salem
Detectives and FBI agents were continuing
to search for leads Wednesday in and around Salem where the Farmers
Bank and Trust Co., Branch was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon.
Trooper Barry Meadows of the Kentucky State Police said Wednesday
morning that there are few leads at this point and it remains
unclear exactly how the robber fled the area after leaving the
bank on foot. Although a handful of eyewitnesses saw the gunman
leaving the bank, no one was able to say whether he got into a
vehicle nearby or escaped through the fields and forests south
of Salem.
A single masked gunman entered the bank just before 1:30 p.m.,
Tuesday and took from two tellers an undisclosed amount of cash
before fleeing on foot behind the Pit Stop convenience store.
Witnesses who saw the white male leaving the bank say he was wearing
a dark-colored or camouflage toboggan-type cap and tan Carhartt
overalls or coveralls. State police said the suspect was carrying
a multi-colored pillowcase, which he had used to fill with cash
from the bank.
State police, the sheriff's departments from Crittenden and Livingston
counties and FBI agents were on the scene with a K-9 unit searching
for clues minutes after the robbery was reported via a 911 call.
Three employees were inside the bank at the time of the holdup,
including Sheriff Agent's wife Melissa. The others were Marion
residents Brodi Travis and Sheryl Watson, the branch manager.
Another employee Connie Berry had gone home for lunch.
The gunman, with the toboggan pulled over his face, entered the
bank and said little to the two tellers on duty. He verbally threatened
them, pointed a dark-colored handgun at them and demanded cash.
After taking money from the two tellers' work stations, the robber
fled. During his getaway from the bank, he apparently stumbled
and lost a portion of the cash while still inside the building.
He was inside the bank for only a matter of seconds, those involved
in the incident and investigation have said.
At least three witnesses are believed to have watched the bank
robber going and coming from the bank. Two women were behind the
Pit Stop convenience store when they apparently saw the man dressed
in what one witness described as "dirty coveralls" heading
toward the bank. The two women did not get a good look at the
man's face, but were close enough to "touch him," one
said.
Another witness, a man who works in Salem, was driving past the
bank when the robber was apparently leaving the scene.
"I thought to myself, 'What an odd looking fellow,'"
said the man whose identity is not being disclosed for safety
concerns.
It wasn't until later that all of the witnesses realized that
the man they had watched coming and going from the bank was probably
the same person who robbed it.
Police interviewed each of the employees in the bank and the witnesses
outside the bank. They also reviewed digital surveillance video
from inside the bank.
Gareth Hardin, president of Farmers Bank, was in Salem Wednesday
morning with other members of the management team.
"The important thing is that no one was hurt," Hardin
said. "We will be here today (Wednesday) with extra help
to see that everyone gets through this and to make sure they get
what they need to be able to do that."
Hardin said that although the three female employees inside the
bank at the time of the robbery were initially traumatized by
the events, they had begun to relax a bit by late Tuesday.
"They were shaken up pretty bad right after it happened,"
he said.
Not long after officers arrived on the scene, someone nearby was
apparently target practicing with a high-powered rifle. Several
bursts from a high-volume clip were heard by those standing near
the bank. The report of gunfire sent officers scrambling to the
vehicles. Many of them left the bank area to investigate the source
of the shots. Soon afterward, however, they returned to the bank
after discovering the shots had nothing to do with the ongoing
investigation.
Farmers Bank opened the Salem branch in April of 2003. It is the
first time the Farmers Bank or any of its branches have been robbed.
State police say that it's unclear at this point whether they
will have an artist rendering created of the suspect from eyewitness
accounts.
"That's possible," Trooper Meadows said. "We'll
wait and see what develops."
Police also are looking into the possibility of a link in the
robbery Tuesday and one Friday at the U.S. Bank in Lone Oak.
"What's probably going to happen is that someone is going
to give this guy up, tell us who and where he's at," Trooper
Meadows said.
Det. Steve Bryan of the Kentucky State Police is the lead investigator
in the case. State police are asking for anyone who noticed anything
suspicious or have any other information about the robbery to
call them at 1-800-222-5555.
Local Guard unit likely
to be deployed again
Pfc. Kyle Craig was a fresh new face in the Kentucky National
Guard Armory last weekend. Just out of advanced training, the
2004 Crittenden County High School graduate is one of a handful
of new soldiers who have joined B Company 2/123 Armor since it
returned from active duty just over two years ago.
As guardsmen, family and friends gathered for the unit's annual
Christmas luncheon at noon Saturday at the armory in Marion, Craig
and others talked candidly about the likelihood of being deployed
overseas very soon.
"I'm almost positive we will be deployed within the next
two years," said Craig, who signed up for the Guard as a
high school junior just four months after the local unit came
back from active duty in Germany in the fall of 2002.
"I knew when I signed up that it was probably going to happen.
If I'm needed I will go do my job and come back and go to college,"
said Craig, who has enrolled to start classes at Murray State
in January where he will pursue a degree in criminal justice.
Although he always thought about joining the military, Craig said
that the Guard's financial aid for college really made a big difference
in his choosing to sign up in high school. After his junior year
at CCHS, Craig spent the summer in boot camp then attended advanced
training last summer before getting joining the unit.
Craig's mother Joyce was seated next to him at the table as lunch
was being prepared for the dozens of soldiers and guests piled
into the armory's staging room. She admitted that the thought
of her only son being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan was far from
her mind when he joined two years ago. Now, as the insurgency
in Iraq intensifies and the U.S. begins a buildup to 150,000 troops
more than during the invasion she worries about the
future.
"I just try to tell myself that there are a lot of troops
over there and even though some of them are dying, proportionately
most of them are not getting killed," she said. "His
chances of getting hurt in a car wreck here are probably about
the same."
Lt. Barkley Hughes of Tolu is another local soldier who expects
to be overseas within the near future.
"Deployment is a very real possibility," said Hughes,
a platoon leader in B Company.
Many of the soldiers think that based on the numbers of troops
being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan and the frequency by which
they're being mobilized in and out of the country, the local unit's
number will come up again with the next year to 18 months.
Although the prospects of going into hostile territory looms large
over the Marion Guard unit, recruiting continues at a successful
pace, said Sgt. Sarah Holler who is headquartered here.
She has signed up six new recruits who are either going to basic
training very soon or are already there.
"Sgt. Holler has done a great job," said Lt. Hughes.
"Kentucky is the only state in the country to meet its Guard
recruiting goals. That tells me the people of this state are standing
up to the call."
The Marion unit was mobilized as part of Operation Enduring Freedom
in December of 2001 for a 10-month tour in Germany where it provided
protection for bases there. It was the first time the unit had
been activated since the crisis in Berlin in 1961.
If local reservists are again called to active duty, Cpt. Fred
Bates, commander of the Marion unit, will not be there. He is
leaving soon to become an ROTC instructor at Murray State.
More local kids need Christmas
help
About 100 more children than usual are seeking help from the community
to have a merry Christmas. But with the number of people seeking
assistance through Community Christmas up, still 50 children have
yet to be sponsored with just a few days remaining before gifts
are distributed.
Still, people are coming in every day to have their names added
to the list. They are being told that assistance at this late
date is doubtful.
More people than usual have their names on a list for assistance
through Community Christmas this year, and to date, fewer monetary
donations have come in compared to this time last year.
More than 300 children's names and 200 families were on the list
for assistance this year. Now, with funds down, organizers are
scrambling to help everyone who requested it.
Some of those seeking assistance have, in the past, been sponsors
as a result of circumstances where the breadwinner lost a job
because of layoff or injury, said Belinda Campbell, one of the
event's organizers.
Last year, just over 400 people, including children, registered
for the program.
As of Dec. 3, $2,100 had been collected for Community Christmas,
according to treasurer Mickey Myers. Donations are being accepted
at The Peoples Bank in Marion. You may still call Campbell at
965-5229 to sponsor.
Organizers are now accepting good, used toys, excluding stuffed
animals. It's not necessary that people sponsor families or individuals;
instead, they may simply donate items including non-perishable
food.
"Last year we had rooms of new toys, used toys and baby items
and if someone didn't get sponsored, they could go through those
rooms and get what they wanted," she said.
Guidelines for Community Christmas qualification are the same
as those for people who receive food stamps. If the gross monthly
income for a family of two does not exceed $1,354, the family
qualifies for assistance through Community Christmas. Families
of four cannot earn more than $2,043 per month and families of
six $2,732.
Gifts for Community Christmas will be collected at the National
Guard Armory Dec. 13 and distributed Dec. 14.