LAKE COUNTY - A man wanted in connection with two recent bank robberies - one of them committed on Thursday - was arrested Friday after a brief standoff with authorities near Fruitland Park.
James Lee Coleman, 25, was sought in the Thursday robbery of Heritage Bank on East Silver Sprin
gs Boulevard, as well as the Aug. 3 robbery of a SunTrust branch.
He was located in the Fruitland Park area Friday through information obtained by the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office SWAT unit responded to the location and, after a brief negotiation, Coleman surrendered.
His brother,
Desmond M. Davis, 19, according to witness statements, fit the description of the getaway driver in the Heritage Bank holdup.
He was arrested earlier in Marion County.
According to a news release from the Ocala Police Department, as detectives from the Major Crimes Section investigated the Heritage Bank robbery, which occurred just after 1 p.m. Thursday at 1409 E. Silver Springs Blvd., they developed information on the identity of the suspect.
Coleman, 25, was subsequently identified by witnesses as the robber.
According to OPD spokeswoman Sgt. Angy Scroble, as officials kept searching for Coleman, Davis was located and told a detective he
was the driver of the car when Coleman robbed Heritage Bank.
Davis was arrested on one count of
strong-arm robbery and was booked into the Marion County Jail with bail set at $10,000.
During the investigation, another detective found that surveillance photos of Coleman match the description of the suspect in the Aug. 3 robbery of SunTrust Bank at 1601 S.W. College Road. Through a photo lineup, the detective identified Coleman as the man who committed the robbery.
According to Scroble, OPD detectives are working to determine whether Coleman may have been involved in other crimes in the city.
She stated in a release that detectives from the Sheriff's Office will charge Coleman with armed burglary; he is accused of burglarizing the home of a deputy and stealing several firearms.
He also is suspected in another bank robbery in Marion County.
Anyone with information about any of the crimes is asked to call the Ocala Police Department at 369-7000. To remain anonymou
s, call Crime Stoppers at 368-7867 or go to
www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.