Hickory police nabbed a bank robbery suspect accused of two bank heists in a span of four days. They spotted him less than 20 minutes after the Taylorsville Savings Bank in Bethlehem was robbed Thursday morning.
Donald Clayton Parker, 42, of Hickory, also matches the description of the man who robbed the State Employee’s Credit Union in Lenoir on Tuesday.
In both cases, the thief claimed to have placed a bomb in the building and demanded cash.
Parker pulled his East Carolina University cap over his eyes, hunched over and tried to hide from the media behind an officer as he was led from the back seat of a Hickory police car to the front seat of Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman’s SUV.
“I never done anything like this before,” he said through tears. “I apologize.”
Asked whether he’d lost his job or if the pressure of the economy made him commit the robberies, Parker would only say, “That’s part of it,” and refused further comment.
A threat was all it took to rob the Bethlehem bank.
“The call came in right at 9:01,” said Capt. Keith Warren of the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office. “As the tellers unlocked the door, he entered as the first customer.”
The bank robber walked up to the counter, threatened the tellers and demanded money.
“He told them there was a bomb in the basement and they needed to hurry,” Warren said.
The tellers cooperated and the suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money.
A customer in the bank’s drive-through got a vehicle description and a partial tag number on the suspect’s vehicle.
He called 911 and the dispatcher put out an announcement for law enforcement to be on the lookout for a charcoal-colored Buick sedan.
Minutes later, Sgt. Jeff Medley of the Hickory Police Department spotted Parker driving a car matching the description south on N.C. 127 in north Hickory.
Medley called for backup and stopped the car on Sixth St., NW, across the street from Glenn C. Hilton Jr. Memorial Park.
Minutes later, Bowman arrived at the scene.
“I’m so thankful for Hickory PD spotting him,” he said.
Detectives from the Lenoir Police Department arrived on the scene at about 9:45 a.m.
“We’re very thankful to the Hickory PD,” said Detective Christopher C. Branch.
After Alexander County officers arrived on the scene at the Bethlehem bank, they accompanied the bank tellers into the basement to search for the bomb but found nothing.
“We do not feel there was any credibility to the threat,” Warren said, adding that basement access is tightly restricted to bank employees.
He added that, even though the suspect did not have a weapon and there was no bomb, the threat of a weapon or bomb carries the same charge that would be applied if the weapon or bomb was actually used in the crime.
“A threat was made and the tellers took it at face value, therefore (the suspect) will be facing serious charges,” Warren said.
The State Employees’ Credit Union in Lenoir was robbed at about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. A man walked into the building and told the teller he’d put a pipe bomb in the building’s bathroom and demanded money.
The teller cooperated and gave him an undisclosed amount of cash.
While being interviewed following his arrest, Parker admitted that he’d robbed the Lenoir bank, according to a media release from the Lenoir Police Department.
Parker was arrested and charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon in the Bethlehem robbery. His bond was set at $250,000 secured.
The Lenoir Police Department is working to get an arrest warrant on identical charges in the Lenoir robbery.
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