First National Bank in Cloverdale robbed

Monday, April 6, 2009

The man who robbed a Cloverdale Bank earlier today remains at large, authorities said.

A lone suspect entered the Cloverdale branch of the First National Bank at 1000 N. Main St. at about 10:20 a.m. According to a news release from the bank, the suspect, a male, was "brandishing a semi-automatic handgun," which a release from the Indiana State Police said he pointed at a teller.

The suspect escaped northbound on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Bank chief operations officer and Vice President Todd Lewis declined to say how much money was stolen.

Officers from the Indiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division conducted preliminary investigation.

The robber was described as a white male, 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 180 pounds. He was wearing a blue-green raincoat, white tee shirt, blue v-neck shirt and blue jeans. Bank employees were unable to give a description of the thief's face, as he was also wearing a camouflage mask. He was also carrying a black bag.

Officers from the Cloverdale Police Department, Putnam County Sheriff's Department and Indiana State Police canvassed the area around the bank for some time after the robbery, but were unable to locate the suspect.

This still photo was captured from the bank's surveillance video.

"The First National Bank staff did a very good job managing a stressful and dangerous situation," Bank President Gary Neese said. "No employees were injured. The bank appreciates the response from law enforcement officers."

Officers at the Putnamville Post of the Indiana State Police are preparing video surveillance photos. That information will be released as soon as it becomes available.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Indiana State Police at 653-4114 or (800) 225-8576.

Comments
View 15 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Where is the rest of the article??? this is just crazy!!

    -- Posted by chelseah on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 11:04 AM
  • when information is available didnt you read the rest?

    -- Posted by woldo100 on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 11:17 AM
  • This is not TV... it will take more than 48 minutes and 8 commercials to solve the case. Be patient and let the media gather the accurate information!

    -- Posted by Seagullslim on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 11:22 AM
  • So glad no one was hurt!

    -- Posted by mal on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 2:00 PM
  • we live in putnam county,when he gets caught he will serve one week in jail and one year probation.

    -- Posted by yourdaddy on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 5:27 PM
  • Wow! The tellers DID do a good job of describing what they could see. That is a lot of detail to remember when you have a gun waving around. Thank God no one got hurt.

    -- Posted by Xgamer on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 5:49 PM
  • They can take clear pictures from outer space of our houses but of someone waving a gun in your face, nope. This should be a high priority in safety. Best wishes the employees at the bank.

    -- Posted by mad-mom on Mon, Apr 6, 2009, at 6:11 PM
  • I might know who it is if he only wanted the money from the towns account.

    -- Posted by reeltime on Tue, Apr 7, 2009, at 8:23 AM
  • Gather the usual suspects....let's see.......who just got out of prison within the community? Look there first!

    -- Posted by jimsgirl on Tue, Apr 7, 2009, at 9:57 AM
  • This picture is too vague and only one angle - the banks need more cameras positioned in different locations: one at each teller's window - plants - pictures - ceiling - counters...... the kind that blend in. They can't be that expensive.

    -- Posted by Scripted Spontaneity on Tue, Apr 7, 2009, at 11:15 AM
  • I would say by looking at the featured photo that this dude looks heavier than 180 lbs.

    -- Posted by Harmony Church on Tue, Apr 7, 2009, at 2:55 PM
  • I agree this will probably become more common. I do not understand why Wal Mart has 200 camera's in their store but the bank that is full of money only has one veiw on this guy.

    What about parking lot cameras or outside the bank camera. Banks are going to have to beef up their security or no one will want to work for them for fear of getting robbed, shot, or even killed. I agree with the person who said put cameras everywhere.

    -- Posted by tjchopper on Wed, Apr 8, 2009, at 5:31 PM
  • I worked for First National for 3 1/2 years. I can assure you there are cameras everywhere. The photo you are looking at is simply the one released by the police. It is not inclusive of all of the photos. And you simply won't get a good look at a guy when he has a ski mask on.

    Security at the bank covers everything but an armed person walking in during business hours demanding money. In that case, for your own safety, you comply with their demands and try to observe everything you can. It sounds to me like the bank employees did a wonderful job, as they got a good description and--most importantly--no one was hurt.

    -- Posted by cloverfan on Thu, Apr 9, 2009, at 7:21 AM
  • maybe if our cops werent pulling people over for stupid stuff like going to slow, or going 55 right at the 55 sign instead of after it than our banks wouldnt be getting robbed. Im just saying.......

    -- Posted by momma26 on Thu, Apr 9, 2009, at 8:01 AM
  • for those of you concerned about them only getting one picture of the guy, go to the indychannel.com. There are more pictures there.

    -- Posted by dme on Fri, Apr 10, 2009, at 8:04 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: