SPARTA, Ga. — Shortly after the Bank of Hancock opened Tuesday morning, a man brandishing a weapon robbed the bank of an undisclosed amount of money, local and state law enforcement authorities say.
After receiving a call that the bank had been robbed, officers with the Sparta Police Department converged on the scene and spotted a man believed to be the robbery suspect standing outside the bank.
The man was taken into custody without incident, according to Brian Hargrove, assistant special agent in-charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 6 Office in Milledgeville.
No one was injured during the robbery.
Hargrove identified the suspect as Marcel Mitchell, 35, of Sparta.
The GBI official said he had not been made aware of what charges had been filed against the suspect as of Tuesday afternoon.
After his arrest, Mitchell was taken to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, where he was booked and photographed at the county jail in Sparta.
Hargrove said the call concerning the robbery of the bank, located at 12855 Broad Street in Sparta, came into the Sparta Police Department at 9:06 a.m.
Police officers and deputies with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office assisted each other. Deputies set up a perimeter around the bank to prevent the suspect from possibly getting away, according to a police press release.
The bank had just opened its doors at 9 a.m. for another business day.
Hargrove said police called the GBI office in Milledgeville at 9:30 a.m. requesting assistance with the investigation.
The GBI official would not disclose what type of weapon was used in the bank robbery.
Local and state authorities were still investigating the robbery late Tuesday afternoon.
