Saturday Update
Police are still on the lookout for a man they say aided in a Harford County bank robbery Friday morning.
The robbery occurred at 9:58 a.m. at Harford Bank located in the 500-block of Riviera Drive in Joppa. The suspect, later identified by police as 42-year-old Artis Dwayne Bartholow of Essex, came into the bank, displayed a small black handgun, and demanded money from the tellers. At one point he fired one shot from his gun towards the tellers striking a computer system. No one was injured. Bartholow then left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and got into a older model burgundy Ford Thunderbird driven by an unknown black male and sped off.
Surrounding police jurisdictions were asked to keep a lookout for the car. A short time later, Baltimore County Police spotted the car on Route 40 in Essex. Officers chased the suspects down Route 40 until they bailed out at Middle River Road. Bartholow was taken into custody.
Several area Baltimore County Schools were put on alert as police canvassed the area for the second suspect, the driver of the getaway car, who fled from police and has not been seen since.
Bartholow admitted to police he robbed the bank but has refused to provide any information about his accomplice. The vehicle has been towed to the Harford County Criminal Investigation Division for processing. The handgun was later recovered in the area of Middle River Road in Essex.
Bartholow is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center where he awaits a bond hearing. He has been charged with armed robbery, first-degree assault, attempted second-degree murder, robbery, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and various handgun charges.
Anyone who may have information about this crime is asked to call the Harford County Sheriff's Office at 410-838-6600 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Update
It was a tense day at Bird River and Middle River roads.Denise Kennedy witnessed it all from her yard.
"Well I pulled up in front of my house, and I saw the white guy running behind the fence and then he turned around and started to come back this way and ran in front of my car...and then ran over to this area here and that is when they tackled him," says Kennedy.
What Denise saw was one of the two men wanted in a Harford County bank robbery getting caught by police in the woods.
It all started just before 10 this morning, when a man walked right into the Harford Bank in Joppatowne, and shocked the four tellers inside.
He demanded money...fired a shot from his gun...and then jumped into a getaway car driven by an accomplice.
They took off toward Middle River, where they were tracked down by Baltimore County police. They escaped from the car and the bank robber was caught--but his driver sent police on a search that last for hours.
"Anytime you have a bank robbery and especially when you have a handgun involved and now we have a shot fired, there is potential for injury or for someone being hurt. So we are looking for somebody who is possibly armed and dangerous.," says Sgt. David Betz from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
The search of this area lead to five schools being put on alert. Classes went on as usual, but all doors were locked and no one was allowed in. Parents were worried.
"He's in elementary school, he and my niece. It’s kind of scary knowing that they are probably wondering what’s going on and being stuck in school like that," says parent Chelsea Kemp of Middle River.
Police did find evidence including money and a gun--but no driver. After hours of searching they decided he was not in this area.
Things are back to normal at the five affected Baltimore County schools, but police are still searching for their second suspect.
