Donald Kelly could have been in Hollywood making big money as Keenen Ivory Wayans stand in double. Instead he's going to retire on the state custody plan. Seems like an odd choice to me, but whatever floats your boat...
Jeffrey Bachelder says he knew something wasn't right.
Pulling into the parking lot at the Wheeler Road Wachovia bank Wednesday morning, Mr. Bachelder said, he saw a man sprinting across the parking lot toward a waiting car.
"I thought that was a little weird," he said. "It then hit me that the bank had just been robbed."
So he decided to do something: He followed the blue Ford Taurus along Wheeler Road and Interstate 20. As Mr. Bachelder talked to police dispatchers, the two cars reached speeds of 95 mph.
His information helped police stop the vehicle at Exit 175 outside Thomson, where state troopers took 44-year-old Donald Bernard Kelly, of Ellenwood, Ga., into custody without incident.
He faces a charge of robbery by intimidation, Richmond County sheriff's Investigator James Kelly said. Investigators found several stacks of money inside the car.
They also found that Mr. Kelly had served prison time for bank robbery. According to a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman, he was released from the federal prison in Pollock, La., in October after serving more than 11 years.
Authorities praised Mr. Bachelder.
"He is a hero. ... Without that witness, we might not have been able to solve this crime due to the fact the suspect lived outside of Atlanta," Investigator Kelly said. "It was very fortunate for law enforcement that we have citizens of this caliber willing to help."
Mr. Bachelder also was praised by the Augusta FBI agent.
"The guy was very noble in his actions," FBI Special Agent Brian Ozden said. "He certainly went above and beyond the call of duty as a private citizen."
Mr. Bachelder, the co-owner of an industrial electronics firm in Martinez, reacted modestly.
"It was the right thing to do -- to help the people at the bank," he said.
"I've become friends with several of the bank tellers and I wanted to help them."
PRISON RECORD
Donald Bernard Kelly, 44, of Ellenwood, Ga., was sentenced in August 1995 to 12 years and seven months in prison for bank robbery, according to federal spokeswoman Felecia Ponce.
He was initially released with supervision in October 2006, but violated the terms of his release and was back in prison at Pollock, La., by July 2007, Ms. Ponce said.
Comments
Donald Kelly could have been in Hollywood making big money as Keenen Ivory Wayans stand in double. Instead he's going to retire on the state custody plan. Seems like an odd choice to me, but whatever floats your boat...
There you go again
PT you may visit Mr Kelly in Angola, Louisiana. I'm sure he'll very much appreciate your insight in so many subject matters.
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