Police Find Ointment For Rash of Robberies

During an 11-day stretch in July, two Northwest Arkansas banks were robbed, and a third robbery attempt ended when a customer disarmed and wrestled a suspect to the ground. Arrests for aggravated robbery were made in all three cases.

Karen Vorhes, a spokesman for the Little Rock field division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that through July 15 there had been 12 bank robberies statewide this year. Five of them were solved. During all of 2003, there were 33 bank robberies statewide and 26 of those were solved.

So it would at least appear that the state’s on pace to have fewer bank heists overall this year. But Benton and Washington counties of late have seemed more like the wild west than Northwest Arkansas.

The latest robbery happened July 14 when a man reportedly approached a teller at the downtown Arvest Bank in Rogers and presented a note that demanded $5,000 and claimed he had weapons. He got $1,500 and fled on foot.

Two hours later Robert Wayne Spence, 32, of Rogers was arrested after police recognized his description.

On July 5, Benjamin Keith Scott, 40, attempted to rob the Arvest Bank on Fayetteville’s North Garland Avenue with a three-foot wooden sledge hammer handle. He was stopped by a customer and held on the ground until police arrived.

Bank of America’s Dickson Street branch in Fayetteville was hit July 7 when police say Matthew John Schmit, 19, demanded money with a knife and fled with a wad of cash. He was arrested the next day after several witnesses identified him in a photo lineup.

Fayetteville Police Department Sgt. Shannon Gabbard said the victims in each case were lucky that no one was hurt. His department tells business owners to cooperate with potential robbers who threaten them with weapons.

“The only time we discourage you to cooperate with a potential robber is when that person wants to take you off the premises,” Gabbard said. “Most of the time when a victim or witness is taken away, the likelihood of them coming back is slim.”

Last summer, five local bank robberies — including branches of First Federal Bank, First National Bank of Springdale, Bank of Arkansas and First Security Bank — resulted in three arrests. But Gabbard said the area still has relatively few bank robberies.

“As we continue to grow as a regional community, I think it’s natural to expect more attempts,” Gabbard said. “Businesses should do periodic in-service training. Many of them can make an appointment with their local police agency to come out and provide training.”