A car chase through Little Rock ended in a crash late Wednesday, and a bank robbery suspect in the vehicle was arrested, authorities said.
North Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Amy Cooper said the Simmons Bank at 3901 Camp Robinson Road was robbed at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, and the robber fled toward Little Rock. Little Rock police spotted the vehicle and joined in pursuit.
The suspect, identified by police as Leamon Lenelle Burnom, 48, of North Little Rock, crashed near East Ninth Street and I-30, and was arrested shortly after the crash, Cooper said. All of the money stolen -- no amount was immediately specified -- was recovered, she said. By 7 p.m., the bank was still cordoned off and several people in what appeared to be civilian clothing were still inside.
Burnom was charged with robbery and fleeing, and was being held in the Pulaski County jail with no bail set.
The North Little Rock robbery is the second bank holdup in central Arkansas in as many days.
70-year-old uses cane to foil robber
A 70-year-old Little Rock man fended off a robber with his cane outside a Waffle House on Tuesday evening, authorities said.
The man was leaving the Waffle House at 8107 Geyer Springs Road around 9 p.m. when an assailant followed him, pushed him down and tried to grab his wallet, according to a Little Rock police report.
The victim told police that he hit the attacker with his cane, and the assailant left, walking north on Geyer Springs Road. He did not succeed in stealing anything, the report stated.
The victim complained of pain across his rib cage and neck, according to the report. He also suffered cuts on his hand and elbow, police said. Paramedics treated the man and took him to a hospital, the report states.
The victim said he had been talking with his assailant before the attack, and a person who worked at the Waffle House told authorities that the attacker was a relative of another employee and frequents the restaurant.
The attacker is believed to be an unshaven black man with brown eyes, who is about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds, police said.
Officers checked video footage from the business, but no suspects were named in the report.
Metro on 11/01/2018