Officials arrested a South Carolina man Thursday afternoon about a half hour after the armed robbery of the Banks Crossing branch of Northeast Georgia Bank following a chase that began in Commerce and ended in the median of U.S. 441 a few hundred yards from the Athens-Clarke County line.
The Banks County Sheriff's office identified the suspect as Thomas Franklin Woody, 46, of Greenville. Police say they recovered the money, approximately $4,000 to $5,000.
"He gave investigators a confession last night that he did, in fact, rob the bank," said Sheriff Charles Chapman Friday morning.
Chapman said Woody also admitted to a pair of bank robberies in the Greenville area and that Woody had been released from prison in February after serving time for an armed robbery. Chapman said Woody has an extensive criminal history.
According to Chapman, Woody "walked up to a teller and kind of leaned over where the teller was at. From the video, you could see the gun. He's saying it's plastic, but I don't know whether it was. He said he threw it away."
The robbery was reported to Banks County 911 at 3:34 Thursday.
The chase began when Commerce Officer Jeff Rogers, responding to a lookout from Banks County, spotted the vehicle on State Street and attempted to pull it over. The car did not stop, crossed Broad and Elm streets, and went down Central Avenue before turning right onto Waterworks Road. It proceeded west, then cut over to U.S. 441 and headed toward Athens.
The suspect’s vehicle, which hit speeds of up to 82 miles per hour, was disabled just north of the Athens-Clarke line with a one-two punch from a Jackson County deputy and an officer of the Georgia State Patrol, according to Commerce Police Chief John W. Gaissert, who was at the scene.
The deputy deployed “stop sticks” as the Nissan Altima approached, shredding both driver-side tires, Gaissert explained. The vehicle continued until the GSP officer executed a “pit move,” essentially bumping the car on the left rear side to spin it out of control and onto the median halfway between the entrance to the J&J Flea Market and the traffic light at the county line.
Woody was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Banks County Jail. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the case.
Five Commerce units and a number of Jackson County deputies were involved in the chase, along with the Georgia State Patrol.
"The officers from Jackson County and Commerce did an outstanding job," Chapman said, "and the State Patrol too."
The robbery was the second this year at Northeast Georgia Bank. An armed robber held up the bank on Thursday, April 24 and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money. He remains at large.
