Dearl Dean Lawton
Federal agents have arrested 58-year-old Dearl Dean Lawton for the Jan. 31, 2014, robbery of the First Volunteer Bank on Hixson Pike after his DNA was found on a sweatshirt tossed in a nearby dumpster after the holdup.
Authorities said a tall white male entered the bank at 5:07 p.m. and demanded money. He wore a dark hoodie, dark clothes, a dark mask that covered portions of his face and dark gloves. He was carrying a dark revolver.
The robber passed over a khaki-colored canvas-type shoulder bag with dark-colored trim to a female teller. He told her to give him all the money she had. The teller put $2,641 cash in the bag, which had a zipper on it.
A male customer told agents that the robber told him, "Put your hands up and get over there." He said the man pointed a revolver at him and the tellers. He said he pointed the gun at the center teller and told her to give him money without dye packs. He also told her not to activate an alarm. He said the man was wearing dark-framed glasses.
A man who was in the drive-thru lane at the bank said he could see the robber pointing a gun at employees. He said he drove around to the front of the bank and saw the man exit the bank with his arms crossed. He said he was holding a brown bag. He said he saw him walk toward an alley behind a shopping center behind the bank.
The customer said he drove into the alley behind the shopping center and saw the robber beside a dumpster. He said the robber then ran up a set of stairs from the alley that goes to a parking lot.
The same day, authorities found a number of items in the dumpster behind a shopping center near the bank. Those included black latex gloves, a dark blue Columbia brand hoodie sweatshirt and a black hat embroidered "Let The Eagle Soar."
A woman who works at a nearby shoe store said at 11:30 a.m. that day she saw a black Dodge Ram truck with tinted windows parked in the parking lot directly behind First Volunteer Bank. The truck had chrome on the front and did not display a plate on the front. The vehicle exited the parking lot and traveled to the intersection of Northpoint Boulevard and Hixson Pike.
The woman at the shoe store said the driver of the truck was a white male with a black and gray beard. She said the truck returned and again parked in the lot directly behind the bank. She said the vehicle exited the parking lot at approximately 5 p.m. and drove behind the shopping center where the shoe store is located. It was parked near the dumpster where the items were found.
She said she saw a white male wearing a dark hoodie and carrying a backpack standing in front of the shoe store. She said he then walked toward the bank.
Video from a nearby store showed a man park a truck and then walk down the steps near the bank. The man then returned to the truck and drove off.
Agents said a search of the FBI CODIS database revealed a DNA association between the dark blue Columbia brand hoodie/sweatshirt that was recovered from the dumpster and Lawton - a convicted felon from Georgia.
Agents said Lawton was living at 1733 Hixson Pike and driving a black 2006 Dodge truck.