FAYETTEVILLE — Police arrested a Fayetteville man suspected of robbing the First Security Bank on North College Avenue on Friday afternoon.
Garry Lee McKnight, 53, faces a felony charge of aggravated robbery.
Fayetteville police responded to a bank robbery at First Security Bank, 11 N. College Ave., at 2:17 p.m..
Police Sgt. Bill Phelan said a white man entered the bank wearing a mask and approached a teller. He told the teller he had an explosive device. The man placed a box on the counter and demanded money. The teller complied and the man fled on foot, carrying the money and the box.
“We arrived at the bank by about 2:20 p.m.,” Phelan said. “We located and arrested the suspect 15 minutes later at the intersection of Block and Meadow. We recovered items related to the robbery, such as the mask and the box.”
“The box he was carrying was empty,” Phelan said.
McKnight has a criminal history with the Fayetteville Police Department involving various misdemeanors.
Phelan said the investigation into Friday’s bank robbery is continuing.
McKnight was being interviewed by investigators late Friday afternoon. He was to be transported to the Washington County Detention Center.