Deputies nab bank robbery suspects in Spring Hill
SPRING HILL –
An accused armed robber and his getaway driver were arrested moments after the gunman held up a bank Friday afternoon, deputies said.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Spring Hill and Linden drives to search for the two male suspects.
Both men were caught, witnesses said, after the driver ran a stop sign and crashed the car along Linden.
Noah Ryan Wyles, 20, of Cocoa, and Zachary John Rianhard, 39, of Merritt Island, were arrested.
Cpl. Wendy McGinnis said the robbery took place shortly before 2:45 p.m. at the BB&T Bank at 11234 Spring Hill Drive near the Mariner Boulevard intersection.
Deputies received a call from someone at BB&T reporting the robbery. The witness said the suspect was wearing long sleeves and gloves and was carrying a handgun.
The same witness saw him run to a nearby street and get into the passenger side of a green sedan with tinted windows, McGinnis said.
As deputies were closing in on the suspects, the driver failed to stop at the intersection of Linden and Spring Hill drives and caused a crash, according to a media release.
Both suspects got out of the car and ran into a nearby neighborhood.
John Carbone, 55, who lives off Linden, was walking with his son to a friend’s house when he heard the crash. Soon thereafter, he heard the pursuing deputies telling bystanders to return to their homes.
“They started yelling, ‘Get back! Get back!'” said Carbone.
Moments later, as he headed toward his house, he saw the suspects jumping over fences and running through backyards, he said.
“I started yelling, ‘Over here! Over here!” said Carbone. “I’m glad they caught them. We don’t need this (expletive deleted) in our neighborhood.”
McGinnis said deputies “flooded the area” and established a tight perimeter.
She also said numerous 911 calls were made by residents who spotted the suspects cutting across private property.
One of the suspects was located and held at gunpoint in the woods off nearby Banister Street, deputies said.
Both were caught shortly before 3 p.m.
A second vehicle was involved in the crash along Linden. The driver of that vehicle was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries, McGinnis said.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.
David Gabutti, 70, lives a few blocks away from the scene and heard the wreck.
“We have a lot of accidents on this corner,” he said. “That’s what we thought it was, just an accident. But then we came over and saw this.”
Wyles and Rianhard were transported to sheriff’s office and interviewed by major case detectives, according to scanner reports.
“This is the second Hernando County bank robbery within a month where the suspects were apprehended within 15 minutes,” said Sheriff Al Nienhuis. “Having adequate, dedicated and well-trained deputies on the streets makes it very difficult to successfully commit a bank robbery in Hernando County.”
On July 19, deputies arrested and charged Demetrio Crespo, 42, after a detective pulled him over in a vehicle that matched the description of the one used following a robbery at the Bank of America off Mariner Boulevard. He was apprehended five minutes after the robbery.
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or [email protected]. Reporter Hayley Mathis can be reached at 352-544-5225 or [email protected].
