Hancock Bank robbed in Prentiss; suspect on the run
Published 3:22 pm Tuesday, May 25, 2021
The Hancock Witney Bank on Columbia Avenue in Prentiss was robbed just after noon Tuesday.
The perpetrator pulled a gun on one of the tellers and took an undetermined amount of cash. The suspect was on foot in the area. He is described as a black male, 5’8″ tall, wearing a black shirt and black pants with red shorts underneath and AND1 shoes.
Please call the Prentiss Police Department at 601-792-5198 or the JDCSO at 601-792-5169 if you see anyone suspicious in the area. The FBI is en route to the scene.
Shortly after the Hancock Whitney Bank was robbed in Prentiss Tuesday afternoon, the suspect was seen at a home in Jefferson Heights. Joe Rush, who lives on LeMoyne Blvd., said he saw a black male walk from his back yard to his front and lay down in a flower bed as a truck drove by. About 10 minutes after the truck passed, the suspect jumped up and crossed the boulevard and ran through the woods at the end of Victor’s Drive.
“He only had one shoe on when I saw him and he must have crossed the ditch behind the house because his other shoe was muddy,” said Rush. Officers found the second shoe in a yard at the corner of Victors and LeMoyne. “He also didn’t have any money on him because he only had shorts and a t-shirt on.” Rush, and his wife Dannell, were unaware the bank had been robbed when they called the Prentiss Police Dept.
A portion of the money and a hat were also found behind the Rush home. A Marion County K-9 unit is on the scene. Also assisting JDCSO and PPD are the FBI, MDOC, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. Please call the Prentiss Police Department at 601-792-5198 or the JDCSO at 601-792-5169 if you see anyone suspicious in the area.