Deputies arrest Alabama bank robber

An Alabama man wanted in a bank robbery there was arrested in Neshoba County over the weekend.

The man, Griffin Allen Thompson, 49, 307 Lee Street Sylacauga, Ala., southest of Birmingham was arrested at a Philadelphia motel on charges of first and third-degree robbery in Alabama.

Thompson is in the Neshoba County Detention Center where he is awaiting extradition to Alabama.

The robbery happened on Friday, Jan. 12, around 9:25 a.m. at the Heritage Federal Credit Union in Sylacauga, Ala. The authorities there identified Thompson as a suspect. An undisclosed amount of money was taken during the robbery.

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said his office was contacted by the United States Marshal Service and notified that the suspect could be in the area. 

The Choctaw Police Department and Pearl River Resort casino security were notified as well with a description of Thompson.

At about 1:25 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, a Nehsoba County Sheriff’s Deputy identified the suspect vehicle, a blue Ford SUV with an Alabama tag, in the parking lot of the Deluxe Inn and Suites on Central Drive here.

Clark said the vehicle had been spotted by a camera system installed by the Sheriff’s Department that scans license plates and takes pictures of passing vehicles.

A deputy spotted Thompson as he was leaving his room to get into the suspect vehicle, Clark said.

The deputy quickly pulled into the parking lot and detained Thompson until backup could arrive and arrest Thompson.

Thompson admitted he had been at the casinos and was staying at the motel. He was arrested with more than $4,000 in cash on him, Clark said.