November 23, 2009

Joseph Breeden, 32, the man accused of robbing the BB&T Bank on Pantops Mountain on Friday was in Albemarle County General District Court Monday.

He will be held in the Charlottesville/Albemarle Regional Jail without bond.

Breeden will be back in court on January 7th at 9:30 am.

The Gordonsville man was arrested Saturday morning.

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November 21, 2009

32-year-old Joseph Breeden of Gordonsville is under arrest, accused of holding up the BB&T bank on Pantops Friday. Breeden appeared in court Monday morning.

The robbery happened around 10:30am Friday . A man described as white, in his late twenties to early thirties, and possibly armed, demanded money from a teller at the BB&T bank on State Farm Boulevard near the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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The 32 year old Breeden was arrested Saturday morning and is charged with bank robbery. He's being held without bond in the regional jail until an arraignment hearing is scheduled.

This latest hold-up comes on the heels of a Wachovia Bank robbery near Martha Jefferson Hospital and downtown Charlottesville earlier in the week.

Police will not say if they believe the two robberies may be related.

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November 20, 2009

Police have confirmed the BB&T bank on State Farm Boulevard in Albemarle County, near the DMV on Pantops Mountain was robbed Friday morning.

"It's really sad to see the good people that work around here getting shook up by an event like this," says Joshua Bliss, a frequent customer at the BB&T and friend of some of the bank tellers.

A typical workday soon became terrifying for people at the bank.

Just before 10:30 am Friday, Albemarle County Police say a white man walked up to the tellers and demanded cash. He's believed to be in his late twenties to early thirties, 5'5" to 6'0" tall with a black stocking cap pulled over his face, wearing a blue horizontal stripe button-down shirt, faded blue jeans, and black and brown construction gloves.

He may have been armed.

"There was an indication that there may have been a weapon," says Lt. Greg Jenkins with the Albemarle County Police.

The suspect went out the front door and fled on foot with the cash behind the bank. K-9 police dogs were quickly sent on the trail. They followed the robber's scent towards the Carriage Hill Condos and the Food Lion.

On the ground, and in the sky with search helicopters, the search continued, but the suspect couldn't be found.

Police aren't sure whether he managed to enter a car after he fled on foot.

Those who live in the area say these bank robberies may be a sign of the times.

"I think it's a sign of our economy. Not that people haven't robbed banks before, but there's a lot of drama going on in people's lives. People are really desperate now," says Karen Kocik, who works on Pantops Mountain.

"It kinds of hurts to know some people would rather rob banks than go out and work the honest way," says Bliss.

Police are hoping to put a stop to this string of robberies in our area.