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String of bank robberies ends with arrest

Off-duty officer chases suspect out of bank
Posted at 4:52 PM, Oct 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-29 16:52:31-04

WHITE MARSH, Md. — For 12 days, the FBI distributed a picture of 51-year-old Fletcher Dorsett wanted in connection with eight bank robberies since July, and now he’s been captured after committing his ninth at the Bank of America branch on Honeygo Boulevard in White Marsh on Monday.

RELATED: Police looking for suspect wanted for multiple bank robberies

It just so happens an off-duty Baltimore County police officer was inside that same bank conducting business when dorsett showed up.

"When a person walked up next to him, to the teller station next to him with a backpack,” said Ofc. Jennifer Peach of the Baltimore County Police Department. “Our officer found that to be a little bit unusual so he started paying attention, and a few minutes later, he saw the man run out the door with the backpack, and the teller announced that the bank had been robbed."

It appears Dorsett had handed the clerk a note implying he had a weapon, which had become his calling card.

"At the time that this happened, the officer had no idea if there was a weapon. He didn't even know if there was a weapon that was implied, but it is our natural and trained instinct to go after the bad guy," added Peach, who says this time, with the element of surprise now turned against Dorsett, he failed in his bid to escape with the money. "The off-duty officer immediately ran after the suspect and was able to apprehend him and held him at gunpoint until other officers could come to physically place him under arrest."

One of those officers recognized Dorsett from the FBI flyer, and police soon learned the suspect had hired a cab to drive him to the bank and the driver was still waiting for him when the long arm of the law finally caught up with him in the parking lot outside the bank.