THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010450
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
Two men who have been charged with robbing a bank on Diamond Springs Road may also be connected to other bank heists, police said Wednesday.
Lamar E. Mumford, 24, of the 4400 block of Saint Mark Road, and Darius M. Bailey, 18, of the 800 block of Grosvenor Court South, were arrested late Wednesday and remained in jail Thursday with bail for each of them set at $1 million.
Police said the Signet branch bank in the 900 block of Diamond Springs Road was robbed twice, once on Jan. 18 and again on Feb. 2.
In the first robbery, the gunman used a double-barreled shotgun. In the second, a man jumped the counter and took money from the teller drawers and the vault.
Mumford is suspected of being involved in the first robbery and is charged with one count each of robbery, using a gun while committing a felony and entering a bank while armed. Bailey is suspected in both robberies and faces two counts each of the same charges.
``Detectives investigating these robberies believed the suspects to be responsible for similar robberies in the Hampton Roads area and possibly near the Richmond area,'' said Lou Thurston, a police spokesman.
Police joined forces with the Virginia Beach Banking Security Association and the FBI and were able to identify the two suspects who were arrested without incident.
Police also recovered ``a substantial amount of cash'' after the arrests, Thurston said, adding that ``more arrests and additional charges are anticipated.''
He said police from West Point and Hampton are investigating unsolved bank robberies in their communities to see if the two men might be involved. by CNB