Thegatewaynews.com - Evidence eaten? Bank robbery suspect gobbled note, say police

by Bob Gaetjens

Editor

Streetsboro -- The suspect in the Nov. 19 robbery of Streetsboro's First Merit Bank may have eaten some of the evidence, according to police.

During his arrest, John H. Ford, 35, of Cuyahoga Falls, gobbled a piece of paper while handcuffed and lying across the hood of a police cruiser. A police video camera captured Ford grabbing the paper with his mouth as police emptied his pockets.

First Merit Bank on Route 14 was robbed around 10 a.m. Nov. 19, and Ford was arrested minutes later by Twinsburg Police on Interstate 480.

Ford was charged by Streetsboro Police with aggravated robbery by Streetsboro Police and may be connected with other area bank robberies, according to a news release from Streetsboro Police Department.

According to Streetsboro Police Department, police were called after a man allegedly "passed a note to a bank teller demanding money or he would shoot her."

According to police, the man "did not brandish a weapon" in the bank. There were no other customers present at the time of the alleged robbery, according to Streetsboro Police.

The man then left the scene with an undisclosed amount of money alone in a car.

Within minutes of the robbery, Twinsburg police spotted and pulled over a car on Interstate 480 that matched the description and license plate number Streetsboro police gave them of the suspect's vehicle, said Streetsboro Police Lt. Roy Mosley III.

The driver, Ford, matched the description of the robbery suspect and possessed a .38 mm revolver and a bag of money, according to the news release.

"[Ford] sort of struggled but didn't get into a full fight," Mosley said, adding the gun was inside the car but "not on his person" at the time of arrest.

Mosley said Ford is being investigated in connection with two other bank robberies in Akron at the First Merit Bank on Merriman Road and at a Huntington Bank Stow.

"It looks like there's going to be a federal warrant [this] week," said Mosley.

Cleveland FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson, media coordinator for the agency, said the FBI will investigate any similar bank robberies in the Akron area.

"We'll certainly take a look at ... other robberies, how they were committed, and suspect descriptions, and then we'll go from there," Wilson said. "There's a possibility this guy faces federal bank robbing charges in the future."

He said the FBI is working with Streetsboro and Twinsburg Police on the case.

Stow Police Lt. Richard Myers said the FBI is investigating an Oct. 23 robbery of a Huntington Bank in Stow. Stow Police had earlier reported the Oct. 23 robber may be the same individual suspected in a July robbery of the same bank.

Akron Police said a bank robbery took place on Merriman Road in August, but referred further questions to the FBI.

Wilson declined to go into specifics about the robberies.

Mosley said Streetsboro Police Det. Brian Shaffer worked with the Stow Police Department and determined the man who held up the Stow and Streetsboro banks appeared to be the same person, according to security video.

"We have to send a letter up to Twinsburg to give them a huge thank you," said Mosley. "Had they not been there, this guy might have skated away today."

Myers echoed Mosley's sentiment.

"I'm certainly grateful for Twinsburg's work. They did a great job," said Myers.

According to the Portage County records, bond has been set at $500,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 25 in Portage County Municipal Court in Judge Barbara Watson's courtroom on the Streetsboro charge of aggravated robbery.

The Associated Press
contributed to this article.

E-mail: bgaetjens@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3941