June 05--An unauthorized withdrawal from an Opelika bank was abruptly deposited along the roadway during a high-speed car chase that spanned two counties and involved three law enforcement agencies Saturday.
Kelvin Courtney Green, 29, of Montgomery was arrested and charged with first-degree theft of property and first-degree criminal mischief in connection with the theft of an ATM safe from Southern States Bank in the 2600 block of Frederick Road. Opelika police are actively seeking two additional suspects in the case.
Opelika Police Capt. Bruce DeLong said that when officers arrived at the bank at 2 a.m. in response to an alarm, they found a white Chevy Impala parked near the ATM with its lights off that began to drive away as they approached. After stopping the car a short distance from the bank, it was determined that it was occupied by Green, two other black males and what appeared to be parts of an ATM machine on its backseat. DeLong said when the officer asked about the parts, the car sped off down Gateway Drive to Society Hill Road.
The police chase continued down U.S. Highway 29 near Tuskegee, where all three suspects left the vehicle and fled on foot. Green was caught a short distance away in a wooded area of Macon County by Tuskegee police and Macon County sheriff's deputies, DeLong said; the two other suspects remained at large as of Monday afternoon.
During the vehicle pursuit, one of the suspects threw the ATM's safe, which contained an undisclosed amount of cash, from a window, DeLong said. The safe was later recovered. DeLong said no weapons or additional property were recovered from the vehicle.
Green was released from the Lee County Detention Facility later that same day after posting $8,000 bail, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said. The case remains under investigation by Opelika police.
Copyright 2012 - Opelika-Auburn News, Ala.