CARNESVILLE — A former South Carolina police chief was arrested in Franklin County over the weekend, charged with a bank robbery in Simpsonville.
Just before 10 a.m. Saturday, a man entered Bank of America on Fairview Road in Simpsonville handing the teller a handwritten note demanding money, according to officials. The teller cooperated and the man left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
The suspect, identified Saturday night as Richard Edward Inman, was arrested about 12:30 p.m. Sunday in Franklin County.
Franklin County Chief Deputy Jimmy LeCroy said Franklin County law enforcement personnel and the Georgia State Patrol received a lookout for Inman’s silver Lincoln SUV from South Carolina law enforcement personnel on Sunday. That vehicle was traveling south on Interstate 85.
“At 12:30 p.m., local law enforcement was notified that an off-duty South Carolina officer was following the suspect and the vehicle described in the earlier BOLO,” LeCroy said Monday. “Franklin County officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle, the vehicle description, along with the white male driving that matched the description provided in the lookout. Officers conducted a felony traffic stop at mile marker 164 on I-85 southbound.”
LeCroy said officers determined that Inman, 48, was wanted for armed robbery in South Carolina. He produced a Georgia driver’s license with a Calhoun address. He was arrested without incident and taken to the Franklin County Detention Center in Carnesville.
Inman voluntarily signed extradition before a Franklin County magistrate judge on Monday and is expected to be returned to South Carolina within five days to answer to the armed robbery charges, LeCroy said.
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is serving search warrants for certain evidence associated with the crime committed in South Carolina, LeCroy said Monday. The search warrants pertain to the vehicle and other property Inman had in his possession at the time of the traffic stop in Franklin County.
Inman formerly served as police chief for Williamston, S.C.
