One of four ‘armed and dangerous’ NC robbers caught in ongoing manhunt

One of the men involved in a dramatic mid-afternoon bank robbery in a small North Carolina town has been arrested after a two-day manhunt. The FBI labeled the four robbers as “armed and dangerous.”

Police have arrested Jeramie Ross Vaughn, 29, of Whiteville in the robbery and he is being held at the Robeson County Detention Center on a $1 million secured bond. He was captured in Columbus County Wednesday night.

Investigators say he’s one of four men who were involved in the robbery Tuesday afternoon and they engaged in a two county chase with police that included exchanging gunfire as they drove. Lumberton is 135 miles southeast of Charlotte.

Each of the four was bizarrely disguised, wearing masks that covered their entire heads, glasses, long sleeve shirts and gloves. One may have been wearing a helmet.

The men robbed the PNC bank on North Chestnut Street, Lumberton, at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. No one at the bank was injured and the men got away with an undisclosed amount of money.

Immediately following the robbery, Lumberton Police officers spotted the suspects in a Grey Saturn car and began a chase.

“During the chase, the suspects fired at officers multiple times,” said a statement from the FBI. “The suspects stopped their vehicle, fired additional shots at officers and (the men) exited the vehicle in different spots along Old Whiteville Road in both Robeson and Columbus Counties. One officer returned fire...It is unknown if any robbers were hit by gunfire.”

No officers were hurt. Multiple state, county, city and federal law enforcement agencies searched the woods overnight looking for the suspects.

Lumberton City Council member Burnis Wilkins posted on Facebook late Monday that one of the robbers jumped from a vehicle and ran into the woods in the town’s Allenton Area. Wilkins said the suspect was “wearing some sort of helmet on his head covering his face.”

The men should be considered armed and dangerous, and additional law enforcement resources are arriving in Lumberton to expand the search, said an FBI statement. “If you see anything suspicious or recognize these suspects, perhaps from their clothing or mannerisms, call 911 or the Lumberton Police Department at 910-671-3846.”

Vaughn has been charged with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count conspiracy to robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of firearm by convicted felon, two counts of second degree kidnapping, and five counts of assault on law enforcement officers with a firearm.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 10:48 AM with the headline "One of four ‘armed and dangerous’ NC robbers caught in ongoing manhunt."