The Gainesville Police Department has confirmed that the suspect in a Friday afternoon bank robbery in the city is the same man who robbed a bank in Toccoa earlier this week.
Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish said Sidney Alan McCollum, 42, of Pickens County, South Carolina, is accused of robbing a Wells Fargo branch at the corner of Thompson Bridge Road and Enota Avenue around noon.
Police believe McCollum fled the bank on foot toward the area of Enota Avenue behind the Publix grocery store, where he had staged his getaway vehicle.
The vehicle is believed to be a stolen, white 1997 Ford -F350 dual-rear-wheel pickup truck. Gainesville Police have released a photograph of the vehicle, which is available in the above photo gallery.
McCollum is described as a white male, 5’10” and 210 lbs. Parrish said anyone who has information on McCollum’s whereabouts should contact the Gainesville Police Department at 770-534-5251 or submit a tip online here.
Original story posted 1:19 p.m. Friday:
The Wells Fargo Bank branch at the corner of Thompson Bridge Road and Enota Avenue in Gainesville was held up around noon today, and police believe the suspect is the same man who robbed a bank in Toccoa earlier in the week.
Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish said the suspect walked into the bank and handed a note to a teller, demanding money.
"He threatened to have a weapon, but he did not present one," Parrish said.
The suspect, a white man of average height and build, had his face covered.
"He had a black gaiter face mask - one like many people are using for COVID right now - pulled up over his nose. He had sunglasses," Parrish said.
Tellers handed over an undetermined amount of money and the suspect left the bank on foot walking toward the parking lot of the Publix grocery store across the street.
Parrish said once officers were able to retrieve surveillance footage from the bank's security cameras, they realized the suspect looked just like the man who robbed the Northeast Georgia Bank branch on Big A Road in Toccoa just before noon on Wednesday, Aug. 11. Parrish said it appeared the suspect was wearing the same clothes he wore during the Toccoa crime.
Toccoa Police Chief Jimmy Mize identified the suspect from the Wednesday hold-up as Sidney Allan McCollum, 42, of Pickens County, South Carolina. McCollum is also wanted in his home county for larceny and domestic violence.
Parrish said officers are searching the area for the suspect, but they do not know if he was able to get into a vehicle and make an escape. He said any witnesses are asked to contact 911 or the Gainesville Police Department with information.
