LUMBERTON — A 29-year-old Whiteville man has been captured and charged as one of the four people who robbed the PNC Bank on Tuesday. The other three people are still being hunted.
Jeramie Ross Vaughn, 29, of Bitmore Road, made his first court appearance this morning.
Other details, including when and where he was captured, were not available.
The Robesonian has also been told by multiple sources that a person who was captured at gunpoint by a homeowner in the Allenton community on Wednesday, questioned by the FBI and then released, is now believed to have been one of the robbers. After he was released at Walmart, lawmen discovered clothing in the area he was captured that they believe was worn by one of the robbers. The hunt continues for that person.
Four gunmen, believes to be two men and two women, entered the bank at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash. Soon after the robbery, city police saw a gray Saturn that matched description of the suspect vehicle and a high-speed chase ensued on N.C. 211 going east during which shots were fired.
One of the robbers is believed to have exited the vehicle and escaped into woods near Old Whiteville Road, and the vehicle then continued until wrecking. Its occupants then disappeared into some nearby woods.
As many as 150 lawmen, including FBI and SBI agents, have been involved in the manhunt since then.
