71-year-old bank robbery suspect arrested in DeKalb County

DUNWOODY, Ga. - A 71-year-old man is in custody after what investigators say was a spree of bank robberies around DeKalb County.

Officials with the Dunwoody Police Department tell FOX 5 that their investigation started when officers were called to the Synovus Bank on the 5500 block of Chamblee Dunwoody Road on Tuesday afternoon.

According to investigators, a man had entered the bank, gave the teller a note demanding cash, and then left with no money. The man allegedly did the same thing at a nearby Chase Bank, but officials say there he got an undisclosed amount of cash.

The responding officers say they found the man, identified as 71-year-old Sharke Bankston, after he went into some nearby woods and changed clothes. 

While in custody, investigators say they learned Bankston was involved in two other bank robberies in Brookhaven and Chamblee and had an active warrant out for his arrest. Police say Bankston also went by the aliases Willard Ray Higgins and Kenneth James Thompkins.

Bankston is now in the DeKalb County Jail on charges of robbery by intimidation, robbery by force, and two counts of armed robbery. He faces additional charges from the other cities.

If you have any information that could help with the investigation, call the Dunwoody Police Department.