At 11:42 p.m., on Jan. 3, Charles County Sheriff’s Office and La Plata Town Police officers responded to BB&T Bank located at 6640 Crain Highway in La Plata, where employees activated a hold-up alarm. While officers were en route, police communications personnel called the bank and spoke with employees who advised a woman entered the bank and passed a threatening note to tellers demanding $40,000. The employees complied and gave the woman $39,850.
As officers arrived on the scene, the woman left the bank. Officers from both agencies apprehended her as she attempted to flee.
The woman was identified as Terra Ellen Carson, 36, of Port Tobacco. She was arrested and transported to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office for questioning. She is being charged with robbery and will be held at Charles County Detention Center, pending an appearance before a district court commissioner.
Six employees and a customer in the bank were not injured. The note passed to the teller indicated the woman had explosives but a responding K9 team conducted a search and did not locate any explosives or suspicious materials.
The quick apprehension was a result of the employees notifying police quickly, giving police the opportunity to respond to the scene before the robbery ended.