Robbery suspect headed to Flagstaff

CHINLE

A suspect in a Chinle bank robbery was headed to Flagstaff this afternoon, where he will be arraigned in U.S. District Court today or tomorrow, an FBI spokesman said.

Police and FBI agents were not releasing the name of the suspect as of 3 p.m. because the complaint was still being processed, according to FBI spokesman Kurt Remus.

Police apprehended the suspect about 7 p.m. at a residence about six miles north of Chinle, according to a press release from the Navajo Nation President and Vice President’s Office.

An employee at the Wells Fargo Bank in Chinle called the police about 10:51 a.m. Monday to report the robbery, the release states.

Local schools were placed on alert, with students confined to campus, while police began their investigation. The bank was closed during the investigation but re-opened that afternoon.

Evidence at the scene indicated the robber had stolen more than $1,800 and fled in a red Ford Explorer with New Mexico plates, the release states. The vehicle fled southbound on U.S. 191 but later turned up at a residence 1/4 mile southeast of the Chinle Holiday Inn. Police and Arizona state troopers responded and found the car, which turned out to be stolen, but not the suspect, according to the release.

The Chinle Police District requested a strategic reaction team and K-9 assistance from the Window Rock District.

Police followed footprints to another residence, near the Presbyterian Church, the release states. There they found a man who said he had driven the suspect to the Chevron station.

At the Chevron, the release continues, police encountered a man who said he had given the suspect a ride to a home six miles north of Chinle. Occupants of the home said the man had fled on foot about one-half hour earlier. However, police eventually captured the man there.

“I commend our Navajo Nation Police Department for their professional response to the robbery,” said President Russell Begaye. “ I’d also like to thank the Navajo public for assisting our police force in apprehending the criminal.”

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