LUMBERTON — A South Carolina man was quickly nabbed Thursday morning and charged with the armed robbery of a Lumberton bank that had occurred moments earlier.

Brian Lewis Jones was stopped by Lumberton police near Exit 20, about three miles from Select Bank and Trust at 4400 Fayetteville Road, according to a statement from the Police Department.

Jones, 46, was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon and six counts of second-degree kidnapping. He was jailed at the Robeson County Detention Center under at $500,000 secured bond.

According to the statement, a man armed with a handgun entered the bank at about 9 a.m. and left with an undisclosed amount of money in a white Cadillac Escalade. The vehicle had been seen last on Cricklewood Street, the statement said.

Officers pulled Jones over “moments later” as he was driving a white Cadillac Escalade on Roberts Avenue, near Interstate 95.According to the statement, Jones was taken into custody without incident.

No one was injured during the robbery or the traffic stop.

Jones lives on Benilli Street in Sumter, South Carolina, and also has an address in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the statement said. The Cadillac, which belongs to Jones, has Michigan plates.

City Councilman Burnis Wilkins, who has worked for many years in law enforcement, went on Facebook to praise those responsible for the quick arrest.

“… This was teamwork at its finest and it all started with the call to 911, eyewitness accounts, the city of Lumberton Communications Center, Police Department Patrol and Detective Divisions,” Wilkins wrote. “The 911 telecommunicators, Tammy McLeod and Jessica Ransom, were quick to dispatch the given information and patrol cars were able to converge on the suspect before it even left the city. This is rarely accomplished so quickly. I thank each of you as you have represented this city well and have shown what your training and experience can and has done to protect the citizens of this city.”

Lumberton police search an SUV pulled over near Exit 20 after a Fayetteville Road bank was robbed Thursday morning. One person is in custody.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_select-bank-robbery-9116-2.jpgLumberton police search an SUV pulled over near Exit 20 after a Fayetteville Road bank was robbed Thursday morning. One person is in custody.

Brian Jones
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_brian-jones.jpgBrian Jones

Staff Report