Bank robbery suspect arrested

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Authorities have arrested a suspect in the robbery of a SunTrust bank branch in Forest on Tuesday.

And they say he’s a suspect in two other bank robberies as well.

William Myrl Smitherman, 19, of Clemmons, N.C., was arrested near Winston-Salem on a fugitive warrant Thursday night, according to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.

He is charged in connection with the Jan. 2 robbery of a First Citizens Bank in Galax, and a suspect in a Roanoke bank robbery along with the Forest one.

“Bedford County investigators have been working closely with investigators from Galax Police Department and the Roanoke City Police on the robberies,” Maj. Ricky Gardner said.

After comparing surveillance video from the Galax robbery and video from a Jan. 14 robbery of a First Citizens branch in Roanoke, Galax Police Chief Rick Clark said he was confident the men were the same person.

When a man with a similar appearance robbed the SunTrust branch at the corner of Graves Mill Road and U.S. 221 Tuesday, local investigators were able to get both a description of the getaway car and video of the suspect without a wig and hat he had worn in the robberies.

The green Mustang used to flee the Forest robbery was recovered during Smitherman’s arrest and played an important role in catching him, Gardner said.

He was arrested after a person in North Carolina who watched a television report about the robberies identified him and called police, Gardner said.