Published: July 18, 2008 05:13 pm         

Arrest made in Galveston bank robbery

Investigators nabbed 22-year-old in North Manchester Friday.

Investigators made an arrest in the armed robbery of Salin Bank and Trust in Galveston.

On Friday afternoon, police from multiple agencies apprehended 22-year-old Virgil Justin Smith of North Manchester. He has been arrested on a charge of armed robbery, a class B felony, and booked into the Cass County Jail on a bond of $5,000 cash/$25,000 surety.

Detective Tom Wallace of the Cass County Sheriff’s Department said he and fellow investigator Deputy Marshal Mike Clark of the Galveston Police Department had been wanting to talk to Smith, who kept avoiding requests to meet for questioning.

In response, they secured an arrest warrant.

“We were tired of playing softball with him,” Wallace said.

A probable cause hearing was held in Cass Superior Court II Thursday, where Special Judge Garrett Palmer ruled investigators had enough evidence to support an arrest warrant, which was served today at Smith’s sister’s apartment in North Manchester, about 47 miles northeast of Logansport.

Smith was taken into custody without incident.

In a phone interview shortly after the arrest, Wallace said police have evidence connecting Smith to the crime, but he declined to comment further. He did say Smith matched the physical description captured on bank video surveillance.

On the morning of June 30, a white male in his early 20s entered the Salin Bank off U.S. 35 in Galveston wearing a cloth mask. He reportedly approached a teller with a concealed weapon and demanded money. The teller obeyed and the man fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit spent the entire day searching the area while the bank was under lockdown. Wallace said officers and detectives performed “knocks and talks” at homes and businesses near the bank, interviewing individuals in Galveston and Kokomo.

Money from the robbery has not been recovered. The search for the cash extends from Kokomo to North Manchester, Wallace said.

The North Manchester Police Department assisted in the arrest this afternoon.

Wallace said the investigation is ongoing. More interviews will be conducted, he said, and more arrests are possible.

Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com