Police snag Indian Head bank robber

Charles County police spotted and arrested an Indian Head man shortly after he allegedly robbed his hometown bank Wednesday morning.

Vernon Randolph Thrift, 43, was arrested and charged with with armed robbery, first-degree assault, theft valued at more than $500 and using a handgun in the commission of a violent felony after he allegedly held up the Mercantile Southern Maryland Bank in Indian Head with a handgun.

Charles County Sheriff’s officers were called to the scene on Northe Prospect Avenue at 9:32 a.m. Witnesses told police that a male suspect, armed with a handgun, entered the bank and demanded money from the three tellers at the counter. The tellers complied, and the suspect fled the scene with the money.

Police dispatched a description of the suspect’s vehicle over the radio, and officers located the car a short time later, traveling at the intersection of Strauss Avenue and Gibey Place in Indian Head. Officers stopped the vehicle and allegedly identified Thrift.

Thrift was held at the Charles County Detention Center in La Plata pending an appearance before a district court commissioner.

The Sheriff’s Office’s Victim Services Unit responded to the bank to assist the three tellers and a fourth bank employee who was in the bank at the time of the robbery. No one was injured.

Detective G. Higgs investigated.