LUMBERTON — A Whiteville man wanted in the robbery of a Lumberton bank was arrested late Wednesday, according to a release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Jeramie Ross Vaughn, 29, of the 500 block of Biltmore Road, was found in Columbus County before midnight and taken to Lumberton, FBI spokewoman Shelley Lynch said in the release.
Vaughn is charged with five counts of assault on law enforcement officers with a firearm, two counts of second-degree kidnapping and one count each of robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of firearm by a felon and conspiracy.
At his first-appearance in Robeson County District Court today, his bail was raised from $175,000 to $1 million, the release said.
Vaughn is one of four suspects in the armed robbery of the PNC Bank at 707 N. Chestnut St. that happened about 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, Lumberton police have said.
The four, all carrying guns, drove away with an undisclosed amount of money. Lumberton police officers spotted them leaving in a gray Saturn and pursued them out of the city limits. The suspects fired multiple times at police officers.
When the car got out of the city limits, more shots were fired and one of the suspects jumped out, while the others drove into Columbus County, where the suspects again fired on lawmen.
The other three suspects are still at-large. Lawmen have completed a large-scale search in the area of Robeson-Columbus counties, but residents should remain alert, the FBI release said.
The agencies involved in the search include the Lumberton and Fayetteville police departments, the Sheriff's Offices in Robeson, Bladen and Brunswick counties, the Highway Patrol, the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.
Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at nmccleary@fayobserver.com or 486-3568.