ECSO deputies arrest Pensacola man in Wednesday's Creighton Road armed bank robbery
Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested the suspect in Wednesday morning's Creighton Road armed bank robbery.
Deputies arrested 48-year-old Dwayne Carlton McDonald Wednesday night and charged him with robbery with a firearm and displaying a firearm during a felony, after witnesses at the Hancock Whitney Bank recognized McDonald's "northern accent" and large "midsection."
"(Witnesses) stated earlier in the day around 11-11:30 a.m. a regular customer known to them as Dwayne McDonald entered the bank," his arrest report stated. "The two stated that this was odd as McDonald usually does his transactions in the drive through."
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Inside the bank, McDonald asked for a routing number, which the witness thought was odd since the number is on clients' checks. The witness told authorities she believed McDonald was "casing" the bank since he conducted no further transactions.
Authorities stated McDonald fit the height and weight description of the suspect seen on the bank's cameras, and was wearing similar clothing.
A deputy later went to McDonald's home where he found a red Town and Country van registered to McDonald's parents, which looked similar to the red van in which the suspect fled the bank.
Deputies were doing surveillance on McDonald's home he left the home in the van, prompting them to initiate a traffic stop.
During the traffic stop, a deputy looked into the backseat of the van where the deputy saw a white plastic trash bag with a red draw string — the same white bag witnesses claim the suspect possessed while robbing the bank.
"At the time McDonald was detained, he was observed to be wearing what appeared to be the same shoes the suspect wore then the bank robbery occurred," the report stated. "McDonald was also in possession of a fanny pack, which contained a large bundle of U.S. Currency."
McDonald led deputies to a black truck with a camper shell at Stop and Go liquors on Pine Forest Road, where an investigator found a white trash bag in a dumpster that contained the red jacket, black mask, a gray T-shirt and black pants with a white stripe.
Later, a judge signed an search warrant for the truck and deputies then found a gun under the driver's seat.
McDonald is detained in Escambia County Jail on $75,000 bond.
Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: ECSO charge Pensacola man for armed robbery of Creighton Road bank
