WATERVILLE — A suspect in an armed bank robbery reported at the KeyBank branch on Kennedy Memorial Drive was apprehended within 45 minutes of the crime, according to Waterville police Chief Joe Massey.
Police identified the suspect as Kevin Barr, 38, of Waterville.
Around 10:49 a.m. Tuesday, Barr allegedly walked into the bank wearing a baseball hat and a mask and carrying a handgun, and demanded money from a teller. Dispatchers had described him as a white male wearing a blue bandanna, a black hat and dark clothes.
After taking an undetermined amount of cash, Barr fled on a bicycle toward Shaw’s Plaza. However, the bag of money that the teller gave Barr included a GPS tracker, which allowed the Waterville Regional Communications Center to track Barr’s movement in real time and relay that information to officers during their search. Dispatchers were able to determine the suspect was near a residence on Lincoln Street based on the GPS coordinates.
According to scanner traffic, at 11:29 a.m., an officer reported he had visual contact with the suspect in the woods about 20 yards from his location in the vicinity of Lincoln Street. A dog was reportedly sent into the area, and an officer reported he could hear the suspect in the woods but not see him.
At 11:37 a.m., Barr was found hiding in a wooded area near a Lincoln Street residence. He was arrested without incident and charged with robbery, which is a class A felony. Additional charges are forthcoming, Massey said in a statement.
Police still were searching for the money bag once Barr was in custody, according to scanner traffic.
Officers from Waterville, Fairfield, Oakland, Winslow, state police, the Maine Warden Service, the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency helped to establish a perimeter around the area the GPS indicated.
Barr, whose last known residence is located on Cool Street, was being held Tuesday afternoon for questioning at the Waterville Police Department. Massey said police think he acted alone during the robbery. Waterville’s criminal investigation unit will be taking over the investigation as it continues.
In 2014 Barr was charged and sentenced for burglary and felony theft after taking two rings worth $5,000 from L Tardiff Jeweler. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but nine months suspended, and three years of probation.
The bank robbery was the second in central Maine within the last week. Last Thursday an unarmed man robbed the Bar Harbor Bank & Trust branch on Route 3 in South China, taking an undetermined amount of cash. Police have yet to apprehend the suspect, who also was described as wearing a blue bandanna.
When asked if the two robberies were related, Deputy Chief Bill Bonney said that Barr did not match the physical description of the South China robbery suspect.
At the time of the KeyBank robbery, police called local schools and warned them an armed man was on the loose. They gave the schools the all-clear at 11:57 a.m.
Emily Higginbotham — 861-9239
ehigginbotham@centralmaine.com
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