Update: Suspects in Thursday morning bank robbery, police pursuit identified

Williamsburg police have identified the two suspects in the robbery of a Williamsburg bank Thursday morning, who are also believed to have led police on a pursuit, which ended only after the suspect’s vehicle wrecked and overturned on its top in southern Laurel County.

Security camera footage of a suspect robbing a Community Trust Bank branch in Williamsburg Thursday morning. Two suspects are in custody.

Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird identified the two suspects Thursday afternoon as Ronald Lee Jones and Becky Hornsby of Knox County.

A Ronald Lee Jones, 34, of Gray, was booked into the Laurel County Correctional Center Thursday afternoon charged with speeding 26 mph or more over limit, reckless driving, failure to wear seatbelts, failure to produce vehicle insurance card, no auto insurance, disregarding a stop sign, improperly on left side of road, first-degree fleeing or evading police (motor vehicle), first-degree wanton endangerment, and first-degree wanton endangerment of a police officer.

Correctional Center records indicate that Kentucky State Police Trooper Jeremy Elliotte arrested Jones, who was also charged in connection with three theft by deception-including cold check cases.

Bird said that Hornsby is facing charges of receiving stolen property and criminal facilitation to commit robbery.

He added that the FBI is in the process of working up a federal complaint.

Bird said that the robbery occurred about 9:30 a.m. at the Community Trust Bank branch, which is adjacent to Cumberland Regional Mall.

“The perpetrator came in wearing a mask and did not brandish a handgun, but showed a note demanding money,” Bird said.

About 15 minutes after the robbery, Kentucky State Police got into a pursuit of the suspect’s vehicle on Bee Creek Road.

“The pursuit carried over to Highway 1193 in Keavy where the vehicle was wrecked out,” Bird said.

Police have both suspects in custody.

“They transported the male to the hospital in London due to the wreck,” Bird added.

Williamsburg police are investigating the bank robbery.

“The FBI is probably going to place federal charges on them pretty quickly,” Bird explained. “It is my understanding both of them are suspects in a Community Trust Bank robbery in Pineville that I think occurred within the last couple of weeks.”

Bird said he believes that Hornsby was the person, who went into the bank during the Pineville robbery.

Authorities think that Jones is the suspect, who went inside Community Trust Bank in Williamsburg Thursday, and that Hornsby rented the vehicle they were inside, which was a newer model Dodge Durango.

Along with money Thursday, the teller inserted a dye pack, which is designed to explode once it reaches a certain distance away from the bank marking stolen bills making the bills harder for criminals to use.

Bird said that police don’t know how much money the suspects got away with yet.

“The officers are still at the bank. They haven’t been given an amount at this point,” Bird said about 10:30 a.m.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Department, Kentucky State Police and the FBI are in the process of executing a search warrant on the suspect’s vehicle, Bird said early Thursday afternoon.

Stay tuned to thenewsjournal.net for updates on this story.